Zero Pressure
by Dokugin
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki's a simple boy, with a simple dream of finding his place in the world. However, it's kind of hard to find a place in a world, especially when you're considered one of the world's most dangerous men and you've got a Demon Fox inside you.
1. Prologue

**I've started another one, partly because I believe this fic has more potential than the others, and partly because I've never seen anything like this before. Like, EVER. **

**Summary: Naruto Uzumaki puts a crush on things…literally. But he's just a simple man with simple dreams of finding a place in this world. However, its hard to find a place in the world for him. Especially when he's considered one of the world's most dangerous men and he's got a Demon Fox in him.**

**Disclaimer: I will not own Naruto, nor will I ever. **

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Chapter 1: Prologue, Because Every Story Needs One

The Kyubi was attacking the gates. Its nine tails waving majestically behind it. Its red fur gleamed in the moonlight, as one of his tails swept through a group of shinobi and slaughtered them. With another tail, it decimated a group of ANBU as they tried to attack the beast.

Four giants suddenly sprang up from the ground. Each one aimed a punch at the beast, but when they hit, all they felt was death as the Kyubi's demonic chakra swept through their veins.

A group of people with deers by their sides attempted a jutsu which all involved their shadows joining together to form a giant one. They all died, but they succeded in stopping the beast for a mere second.

Another group of people, this time with all blonde hair, ran forward. From their bodies sprang forth a corporeal projection of their minds, and they went flying to the beast. They entered him, and for what seemed like a second, the beast paused. Then it continued moving, as the projections of the people came flying out of the beast at tremendous speeds. All the projects came back into their own minds, then lost them. They attacked their own people, and killed them.

People with red eyes and white ones came forward. They tried to battle the beast, with taijutsu and ninjutsu, but they never made it. With one crash of the Nine-Tailed Fox's tail, they were obliterated.

A man with two arms ran up to the beast and jumped. Within a second, he was falling back to the ground, with only one arm left.

People then came with large and small animals. A swarm of black bugs descended upon the Kyubi, and the group with dogs took to the ground. The bugs were fried, and the dogs and their owners were burned. Still, the Kyubi kept on going.

The Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, stood atop the gates, watching as his fellow shinobi suffered. He too, was suffering. His son had been born not two hours ago, and his wife had died in the process.

"So, Uzumaki-san," a voice called out behind him. From the shadows stepped an old man, with graying hair and a long beard. "What are you going to do? Your people are dying, and soon, this village will die."

The Yondaime Hokage said nothing. He just stood there, arms crossed and face looking grim. For a moment, he heard the screams and cries of his fellow shinobi, as they all faced the beast and died. He could practically feel the death toll growing larger. With no sense of movement, he turned around and walked. When he passed the Sandaime Hokage, his predecessor, he said, "What I must." and headed into the same shadows he had stepped out of.

The Sandaime stood there, and looked out to the battlefield.

"Good decision, Arashi-kun."

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He picked up his son, and stood on the hospital roof. He concentrated, and looked for the single kunai he had placed in the forest. It would most likely be in his student Kakashi's kunai pouch. He looked back to Konoha and sighed. He sent a throb of chakra along that link, and he felt himself being summoned to Kakashi in a yellow flash.

"Kakashi," The Yondaime said sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

In his student's arms, he held his other remaining student. She had bones sticking out of her skin everywhere, and blood was spilling from her. Kakashi was holding her in his arms, sobbing.

"S-S-S-She tried to –h-h-help me," he cried, "A-And she d-d-died doing it."

"It'll be over soon, Kakashi." and the Yondaime walked forward onto the battlefield, his son in his arms. He put him down on the ground for a mere second, and summoned up Gamabunta.

"Bunta-san," the Yondaime Hokage told the Toad King, "I need you to get in as close as you can to the Kyubi." He said, while picking up the bundle that was now on Gamabunta's head. He stuck chakra to his feet, and braced himself, as Gamabunta jumped into the air, and landed right beside the Kyubi. The Kyubi never notice the toad, until he stuck a katana into his side.

He howled, and pushed away the Toad with his chakra. It blew him back over 300 feet, and he skidded to a stop. He poofed out of existence, and the fox wondered where he went.

Riding on the fox's back, was the Yondaime Hokage and his son.

"Good bye, Konoha." he said, right before he bit his own finger and let the blood well up on his thumb. He looked down at his son, and saw him for the first time. He already had a head of blonde hair, and the tips of it seemed an unearthly white.

'Must be from his mother.' The Yondaime said, before he created a seal made from his blood onto his son's naval.

The Kyubi thrashed around, and shook his body. He could feel someone was above him, standing on his back. He was a demon. No one should be on his back! He let out a pulse of chakra, and it whipped away everyone else and burned the surrounding trees. It did not make the man fall, however.

The Yondaime picked up his son, and ran up the beast's back and landed on the Kyubi's neck.

"I'm afraid, Kyubi-san, that I can't let you destroy my village anymore."

He ran through a variety of seals, then stopped on one seal that looked like a cross. He felt cold behind him, and instantly knew the Death God was there. A hand reached inside of him, then took a firm hold onto his soul. He turned around, and saw another one of his hands reach into the head of the Kyubi. He screamed, as his soul was ripped out.

"Shinigami-sama!" the Yondaime managed to cry out. The feeling of having his soul ripped out was painfully hurting. It was like having something being torn out of you, with no disturbance. He couldn't talk anymore, as the Shinigami's hand was already halfway out of his body. He felt himself growing cold, a sure sign of going into the afterlife. With a great amount of effort, he held up his son. The Shinigami seemed to understand, and instead of devouring the Kyubi's immortal soul, he placed it inside the boy.

The Yondaime managed to smile, before his soul was completely ripped out, and he fell to the ground with a boy in his arms.

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The Sandaime Hokage, sighed from his position in the shadows, as he saw his predecessor give his life and his son's for the village. The man's corpse fell to the floor, and impacted upon it with a loud thud. He ran over to the corpse, quickly. He had thought of this plan, ever since the Yondaime had outlined it for him. He was to take the boy, and hold him up to the crowd of shinobi that would eventually gather. He would say that the boy was the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and should be treated with respect. Then, only fate would know what would happen.

He picked up the boy, then stared at him, surprise etched onto his face. The boy was no longer sleeping, and his eyes were shone. They were in reverse. Instead of whites in his eyes, they were a blue, a piercing sky blue. The iris's were a pure white, and the pupil was a startling pure red.

The Sandaime could only stare, as the crowd of people came forward, to see what had befallen their beloved Yondaime Hokage. He quickly shook his head to get the thoughts of the boy's unique eye coloring out his mind, before he raised the boy high above his head.

"Let's see what destiny's got in store for you, Naruto Uzumaki," said the Shinigami, watching from his perch in Makai.

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**Well, there concludes the Prologue….Every prologue must suck for the rest of the story to seem good, remember? **

**I'll start writing Chapter 2 as soon as I can. Also, I'm looking for someone to take ****Fire Storm ****off my hands. It's not that I can't write it, but I have too many thoughts and ideas for it. ****If anyone wants it, just pm me and I'll think about it. I might give it away, or I might not. **

**Well, until next chapter…**

**Me…**

**Word Count: 1,496 **

**Page Count: 4 **

**Time: 1 hour…**


	2. Naruto

**Here's Chapter 2**

**Standard Disclaimer Applies.**

**Also, this part uses one of the places similar to the one found in ****Grey Moon**** Chapter 3.**

**It's the one I have to rework. Naruto is also one year older than the Rookie 9. **

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Chapter 2: Naruto

_The man with the eyes walked to the center of the ring. He was in an arena, an arena of blood and sand. The crowd around him cheered as he walked. Before him stood a little girl, around four years old. Beside her, was a man, around the age of twenty. _

"_Please!" he cried. He held his daughter by the hand. For a second, the man with the eyes thought he would be offering himself to save his daughter. Instead, he did the opposite. "Take her! She's just a bastard child! Her mother was just some girl on the streets, who got way in over her head!" _

_The girl was lifted by the man, who placed her in front of him like a shield. She was crying, as was the man. _

_With sweat marring his forehead, he lifted his hand. He felt it, the push and pull on everything around him. He focused it on the little girl and man croaked out in his hollow voice, "It doesn't matter. This is the day you shall both die."_

_The hand he had lifted was his right hand, and was facing open palmed at them. He forced it closed, and heard the screams of the man and his daughter, as they both died under the pressure. The crowd around him cheered, as he stared at them, their faces contorted into masks of pain._

"SHIKAMARU! WAKE UP!" yelled out Iruka, who was standing in the front of the classroom. He threw a pencil from his desk at him, and hit him with the eraser side. Shikimaru yawned lazily and scratched his head.

"Man, school is so troublesome…" he muttered, and picked up the pencil where it had landed off the floor. He put it to his paper and started scribbling pictures of oddly shaped clouds.

"YOU TOO NARUTO!" Iruka cried. Another pencil, this one thrown at Naruto, went soaring through the air towards the boy. The middle and index fingers of his left hand suddenly shot up, and he caught the pencil between them. His right arm was on his forehead, and his head was leaning off the desk and looking down on this arm.

He put the pencil onto his paper, and got to writing. He never even lifted his head, and was soon finished.

Iruka sighed from his position at the front of the room. He was always trying to get the boy to give some sort of 'normal' reaction, but he took everything in stride. In all his time at the academy, which was 5 years, he had never spoken or said a single word. One day, the Sandaime Hokage walked into the classroom, with the boy in tow. He had told everyone to greet him, and said that he was to be joining their class that year.

The bell rang, and all the students cheered and walked to the door. Iruka sighed once again and went around the desks to pick up papers. While walking, he saw that Naruto was still sitting down. He went over to him and shook him slightly.

Naruto slowly got up, then looked at Iruka. He was a good 5'8''. His blonde hair had grown over his forehead, and lay in limp spikes. It was all over the place, and gave him a poor look. At the end of almost every strand of blonde hair were tips of pure white. Beneath his hair, was a pair of sunglasses. It seemed the boy had never took those off either, as he had been wearing them since the first day he had started the academy. His clothes also reflected his lifestyle. He was wearing a black overcoat that went to his hips, and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. The overcoat was very frayed, and was ripping at the edges. Underneath it, he wore a plain white shirt, which was surprisingly clean, contrary to his other clothes. On his legs he wore a set of cargo pants that went to his shins, thought they were rolled up to his shins. His pants were frayed at the edges, and had some patches on them to show Naruto had tried to sew them together. On his feet he wore some plain sandals that were in perfect condition.

"I'll see you tomorrow for your Genin test, Naruto." Iruka said, a little sadly. He had failed the previous Genin test, and all the preliminary tests this year. "Study hard." he called out to Naruto, who had his shoulders hunched and his head facing down and was walking to the door. He gave a small nod, and walked out the door.

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"Hey look everyone! It's the dobe!" Kiba called to all those that were present. They all laughed a little nervously. Everyone was a little nervous around Naruto. He was more stoic and silent than Shino.

"You gonna pass tomorrow's test? Eh, dobe?" Kiba said to Naruto, who was walking away. "Oi! Look at me when I'm talking to you." he ran up to Naruto and shouted in his ear.

Naruto just kept walking, hands in his pockets and looking at the ground in front of him. Kiba was sort of a bully towards Naruto, and almost everyone knew it. No one tried to stop it, because it seemed like Naruto was okay with it. "Hey, stop walking for a second, you idiot."

Kiba growled, irritated, and jumped in front of Naruto. "Stop!" and held a hand out in front of Naruto's face. When Naruto didn't stop, he balled his hand into a fist, brought it back, and swung forward. He punched Naruto across the face, and the sound of glasses falling to the floor was heard. Everyone watching was a little shocked, even the adults passing by, though they were smiling because someone had finally given the demon child a good hit.

Kiba, was staying still and looking at Naruto in fear. Naruto's back was turned to everyone, so they couldn't see why Kiba had stopped. A man walked up, then sneered at Naruto.

"Hey, kid, did this bastard do something to you?" he asked Kiba, who was now shaking. "If he did, I can easily make everything better," and an evil grin crossed his face.

It was quickly wiped off, when Naruto turned to face him. The man was also standing in shock, looking at the boy's eyes. His eyes were in reverse, with the places that were supposed to be white were a piercing blue, the color of the sky. His iris was a white, the color the outer part was supposed to be. In the middle of both eyes was a pure red dot that was his pupils. That normally would have shocked people, but that was not it. While the rest of his body was looking a little relaxed and stoic, his eyes were a different matter. They held a barely contained rage, and were narrowed and slanted. They were cold and merciless, like you would never live to see another day again. They were the eyes of a killer.

Naruto only held eye contact with the people for only a second, before he turned and picked up his sunglasses off the floor. He put them on, and walked away.

Kiba was now back to his normal self, and he was now burying the memory of Naruto's eyes deep into his mind, into a place where he would never see them again. The man was shaking, and was sweating profusely. He watched the demon walk away, more sure of it now more than ever.

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"Mizuki!" Iruka called out to his former comrade. "Give back the scroll and the Hokage might let you live!"

The sound of laughter could be heard through the clearing as Mizuki threw a huge shuriken at Iruka. It went through the air, and impaled itself deep into Iruka's chest.

Hours before, Mizuki had managed to steal a scroll from the Hokage's personal scroll room, and run off with it. A village wide search went on to find Mizuki, and only luck would have it that Iruka would find his old friend.

"See, Iruka!" Mizuki said, as he jumped down and pulled the shuriken out of Iruka before he fell face first to the ground, "All you had to do was take up my offer and join me!" he took a moment to laugh before continuing, "You want to know why I did it, don't you Iruka? Why a mild mannered ninja instructor would betray his own village and make off with one of their most prized possessions?"

Iruka was not listening, and he slowly lapsed into unconsciousness.

"I'll tell you why, Iruka." Mizuki said, putting a foot onto Iruka's back. He struck a thinking pose, with one foot on Iruka's back and the other on the ground. He put his right elbow on his knee, and put his right fist beneath his chin. "It's because this village isn't going anywhere! It's a pathetic village! There's too much peace and prosperity!" he said the last bit somewhat mockingly, "We're ninja, Iruka, NINJA!" he cackled insanely to his friend on the floor. He pressed his foot harder onto Iruka's back, and more blood spilled. "We're supposed to be living life on the fast lane! We're supposed to be out doing missions and killing people! But no, here we are, teaching brats how to throw kunai properly and mold chakra!" He actually lifted his foot this time, then brought it down onto Iruka's back with a considerable amount of force. A crunching sound was heard in the clearing, as Iruka's ribs cracked.

Mizuki was about to jump away and into the night of the forest, when he felt something crushing his arm. He cried out, which caused the scroll that was in his arms to drop. He fell to the floor, and clutched his arm, which had looked like it had just been crushed. Through the blur of his tears, he could make out a shape coming towards him. He had enough sense to jump away, right before something came crashing down onto the spot where he had just been. A thud resounded through the area, as Naruto brought his hand down.

He had been looking for food in a nearby dumpster when he had heard the shouts of Mizuki. He had come over to investigate when he saw that Iruka lying on the floor, and Mizuki walking away. He had quickly deduced that Mizuki had followed in the footsteps of Itachi Uchiha and had tried to kill his friend.

He had waited in the underbrush of the forest, and when Mizuki looked to be about to leave, he had held his hand out, open palmed. In his hands, he held a scroll.

'If I use it, then I'll probably crush the scroll too,' he thought, and quickly rethought his plan. He was originally going to just kill the man and be on his way, but if he simply crushed him, then the scroll would be crushed also. 'Maybe I could just crush his arm, make him drop the scroll, then kill him.'

He concentrated on the arm Mizuki was holding the scroll with, then clenched his palm together. He heard some bones crack under the pressure, and quickly added more. He saw Mizuki cry out in pain, then drop the scroll and fall to the floor with his arm holding his injured one.

Naruto dropped his arm, then stepped out of his hiding spot. He walked forward to where Mizuki was, and brought his right hand up. He balled it into a fist, then brought it down. Mizuki had jumped out of the way, but was quickly lifted into the air by an unseen force.

He felt himself going higher into the air, and was about four feet off the ground. He felt something pressing against him on all sides, but that same thing lifting him into the air. With a great amount of effort, he looked down at the one who was lifting him into the air. Below him stood Naruto.

"N-N-Naruto?" he managed to croak out. It was getting harder to breathe as he felt something was suffocating him. Naruto was below him, with his left hand held out into the air, like it was squeezing something. "W-What are a-are y-y-you doing?" he croaked out.

Naruto said nothing, and his left hand went in tighter. It was obvious what he was about to do.

"W-W-Wa-ait! he called out to the boy. He felt something grasping onto his throat, tighter and tighter, choking the life out of him. When he had called out wait, the boy had let go of his hands, and they fell limply to his sides. Mizuki crashed into the ground, and twisted his leg. He screamed as he felt something break his skin. In his teary-eyed state, he saw white sticking out of his leg.

"Speak," Naruto said. His voice was hollow and gravelly, like he hadn't spoken in a while.

Mizuki was gasping on the ground, trying to catch his breath and ignore the pain in his bones. "I-I-I have in-information for you." He gasped again and felt some invisible pressure pushing down onto his chest. He lay flat out on the ground, writhing in pain. "It's about you!" he managed to say quickly, before the pressure killed him. Naruto stopped, and Mizuki continued, "Have you ever wondered why everyone in the village hates you?" He looked at Naruto, who was standing in front of Mizuki's prone form calmly. He gave a montion to continue, which Mizuki flinched at. He had thought that he would be crushing him again. "It's because, Naruto Uzumaki," suddenly, his face contorted and he grinned and laughed manically, "You are the Nine Tailed Fox!" he laughed more, and he no longer cared if he was hurting.

Naruto just sighed, then held out his open right hand. He pointed it at Mizuki, and curled his fingers inwards.

"I know," was all he said, before his hand closed into a fist and Mizuki crumbled under the pressure.

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"Team 7 is Sasuke Uchiha," all the girls in class perked up at this, "Sakura Haruno," she threw her hands up into the air and did a little dance, "and Naruto Uzumaki. Your Jonin instructor is Kakashi Hatake." Naruto just sat there, arms across his chest. He had automatically passed the Genin Exams for defeating Mizuki and saving Iruka's life. Iruka was now in the hospital, recovering from the grievous wound suffered from Mizuki's shuriken. They had gotten a replacement and he was now handing out teams.

"Team 8 is Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka. Your Jonin instructor is Yuhi Kurenai."

"Team 9 is Gekko Moria, Crocodile, and Monkey D. Luffy. (I needed names...besides, they fail anyways) Your Jonin instructor is Hayate Gekko."

"Team 10 is Shikimaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka." Ino protested loudly at this, but was quieted down by her future teammates. "Your Jonin instructor is Asuma Sarutobi."

He finished, then told them all to wait until they were called upon by their Jonin instructors. He left them all in the classroom and went out into the hall.

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"Those are our teams?" asked Kakashi, his face looking toward the crystal ball. All the other Jonin sensei's were in the Hokage's office, and they were currently looking through the teams the Hokage prepared for them.

"Yes Kakashi. Those are the teams you will be getting." Kurenai and Asuma nodded, while Gekko coughed. The rest of the Jonin's also nodded, except for Kakashi.

"Who's this kid, right here?" he pointed to a boy with blonde hair, who was sitting there while a boy wearing a fur jacket was taunting him. He remained passive, and seemed like he didn't care. His shoulders always seemed to be hunched a little, like he was carrying some sort of pressure on him.

"That's Naruto Uzumaki." The Sandaime said, looking at the boy sadly through the crystal ball. "He's a quiet one, but he's good."

"Isn't he the one who killed Mizuki?" asked Kurenai. She was looking at the boy also, and saw her future student teasing him. "He doesn't seem like much."

Asuma stepped forward, and looked through his father's crystal ball. "She's right, he doesn't look like he could fight anything at all. In fact, he looks a little lazy."

"You shouldn't think so little of Naruto," the Third said wisely, "He's one you should watch out for."

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They had been waiting for over two hours, and there was still no sign of Kakashi Hatake. All the other teams had left already, and they were the only ones left. Sasuke was muttering underneath his breath, and Sakura was watching him as he did so. She had hearts in her eyes, and appeared to be daydreaming. Naruto was simply sitting there, his arms held on the desk in front of him. He was hunched over and was staring at the board.

Finally the door opened, and a man with gray hair came in. He was wearing his hiate in a strange fashion, with it being tilted to the left side. They couldn't see his mouth because his was wearing a face mask.

When he had entered, Sasuke had picked up his chair and thrown it at the man. He had simply sidestepped, but could not escape the screeching call of a mad Sakura.

"YOU"RE LATE!" she cried out, pointing an accusing finger at the man.

He stared over to Naruto, who had turned his head to face him. He was wearing his usual sunglasses and had something like a look of anger on his face, though it was quickly wiped off when he saw Sakura turning around to tell him that their sensei had arrived. She probably thought he hadn't noticed him coming in.

She walked over to Naruto, who had turned his face to look back at the board, and quietly said, in what she thought was a caring big sister voice, "Naruto-kun, our sensei has arrived." she sent a glare at him and helped Naruto up by pulling under his arm.

"Well, my first impression of you two," he said, looking at Sakura then at Sasuke, "Is that I don't like you. You," he pointed to Naruto, "Should just quit being a ninja if you don't even see that your sensei has arrived."

"You shouldn't say such mean things to Naruto-kun, Kakashi-sensei. He's just a boy." said Sakura. She was treating him like a little child, not the teenager he was.

Kakashi sighed, "Stop treating him like a little boy, Sakura. He's not one."

Sakura looked at him quizzically then looked at Naruto, "He's not?"

Kakashi sweat dropped and Sasuke was struggling not to laugh.

"He is a boy, Sakura." Kakashi said. Under his mask he was smirking. For a single second, Naruto's face was a mask of shock and anger at not being called a man, then back into his usual blank look, "But he's not a little boy."

Sakura had the decency to blush, and then apologized to Naruto.

"Meet me on the roof," Kakashi said and with a poof and a leaf, was gone. Sasuke, who had managed to quell his laughter, went outside and up the stairs. Sakura had let go of Naruto and followed her precious Sasuke-kun out to the stairs. Naruto pushed his hands into his pockets, and walked outside.

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Naruto was the last onto the roof, and Sasuke looked at him with a glare. Sakura just gave him one look, and turned back to her Sasuke.

"See," chastised Kakashi, "If you want to be a shinobi, you have to be fast. If you go around everywhere that slow, you'll never make a good shinobi."

Sakura looked at Naruto in pity, and Sasuke just glared at him.

'The dobe's going to hold me back.' he thought in his mind.

(If this scene turns out to be a little different, just know that I haven't watched the beginning of the anime in a while…a long while)

"Well, now that we're up here, let's all introduce ourselves. Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams."

"How about you go first, Kakashi sensei. To show us how it's done." piped the pink haired girl.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. I have many likes and dislikes. I have some hobbies, and I have a dream."

A moment's pause, and Sasuke spoke, "So basically, all we've learned is your name."

"That's right, now you next pinky." he said, giving Sakura his own personal nickname for her.

Sakura's face redden, both at the nickname, and at what she was going to say, "Well, I like…" she looked at Sasuke and blushed, "My hobby is…" Once again, she turned to Sasuke and blushed. "My dream is to…" she looked at Sasuke again, and did the exact same thing as before. "And I hate Ino-pig, and late sensei's." At that her blush faded, and she looked at Kakashi, an evil stare on her face.

"Alright," Kakashi said, but in his mind, he was worrying over getting a fan girl. "You next, duck ass."

Sakura blushed at Sasuke's nickname.

'Well, his hair does sort of look like a duck's ass…' Sakura admitted in her mind.

'You've outdone yourself this time Kakashi!' He thought in his mind gleefully. It was a wonderful nickname, and would probably knock Sasuke down a peg or two.

'Teme…' Sasuke thought in his mind, 'My hair does not look like that.'

"I have no likes and I dislike my sensei." and he glared at Kakashi, "I don't have any hobbies and my dream is to kill a certain man."

"Very inspiring words, Duck Ass." said Kakashi. This time Sakura, let out a little giggle. When Sasuke looked at her, she snuffed it out and joined Sasuke in glaring at their sensei. "Ok, then you next, failure." he pointed at Naruto, and his eye narrowed considerably. The boy showed no skill in shinobi work or in any work in general. It was like he was just there to be there. He couldn't possibly see why the Sandaime had even let the boy into the academy.

"Don't bother, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke snorted, "He's too stupid to talk."

"Don't say that, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said sadly, looking over at Naruto, was sitting on the floor of the roof, right at the edge. He had both hands by his side, and his right leg was bent while the other leg was hanging off the side. He didn't even look like he understood the conversation or the words coming out of their mouths. He looked kind of pathetic like that, and Sakura couldn't stop a wave of sympathy as it rolled over her, "He's not stupid, it's just he can't ta…"

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said, still staring out at Konoha. His voice was hollow and gravely. It sounded a little unnerving on a boy only 13. "My likes are watching and listening. My dislikes are those that waste things or take them for granted. My hobby is learning. My dream is to live."

Sasuke and Sakura were looking at Naruto as if he were the Yondaime reincarnated. He had never spoken or made a noise before. This was the first time they had heard him speak. All three were trying to decipher his strange answers.

For what seemed like hours, they stayed there, until Kakashi said, "I see." his voice was strange, like he didn't know what to think of him. "Well," his voice went back to normal into a carefree tone, "Tomorrow, you'll be taking your Genin test. Now meet at Training Ground 7 at 9 o'clock tomorrow." He looked like he was about to leave, when he suddenly turned around. "Don't eat breakfast tomorrow, or you'll throw up." Then he turned around, and jumped off the building, his last being, "Don't be late!"

Sakura and Sasuke were still in shock at hearing Naruto talked.

"How'd you do that?" asked Sakura, a little embarrassed at treating Naruto like a mute little boy.

Naruto said nothing, as he got up and walked away, hands in his pockets and back hunched. He walked through the door that led into the building and walked down the stairs.

Sakura forgot about him soon afterwards, and went back to looking at Sasuke and blushing. Sasuke shook his head to clear his shock, and followed Naruto's example and walked down the stairs with Sakura trailing near by him.

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"Your job is to get these two bells from me," Kakashi said to his team, holding up two identical silver bells. They were all standing by poles, and Kakashi was in front of them.

They had all met at Training Ground 7 at the exact time Kakashi had told them to go there, only to find he wasn't there. Each of them had sat beneath the tree, and waited for their sensei to show up. After the events of yesterday, Sakura was staying away from Naruto a little. She was still a little embarrassed at treating him like a little kid.

When Kakashi had arrived, two hours late , he apologized and made up some excuse like, "I ran into a mob of hot women and I couldn't get out." to which he got an earful of Sakura.

"But, Kakashi-sensei, why are there only two bells?" Sakura asked.

"Because, pinky. Only two of you are going to become Genin. The other one," He stared pointedly at Naruto, "Is going to fail and go back to the academy."

Naruto didn't react to this, as he was sitting on the floor, in the exact same position as yesterday, except he was leaning a little to the side with his right hand on his knee. His face was angled to the ground and he didn't look like he was listening to them.

Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other, then at Kakashi, then at Naruto.

'We're going to have to work together to get those bells. I might not like her, but at least she would be more help than the dobe."

'I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. But I really want to become a ninja and impress Sasuke-kun.'

"You'll have until twelve to get these bells from me. When time is up and none of you succeed in getting a bell, then all three of you will be sent back to the academy. When it rings, you may begin. Also, you're going to have to come at me with the intent to kill to get these bells."

Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other, and then nodded. Kakashi saw this and smiled under his mask.

'Seems like they already realized that they're going to need team work to get these bells. They automatically pass.' then he looked over at the boy on the ground, 'Now, what about you?'

The bell suddenly rang, and Sasuke and Sakura disappeared into the forest. Naruto was left sitting on the ground, with Kakashi in front of him.

He sighed. "You're different from the others." He said simply. He put his hand into one of his pockets and, unseen to Kakashi, Naruto tensed. When he pulled out an orange book, Naruto relaxed a little.

"Go on, I'll count to ten and you go hide." Kakashi taunted. The boy still sat there, unmoving. Kakashi put the book over his face and started counting.

"1,2,3,4,5…" He counted, and made it all the way to ten. He peeked up from his book and sighed. The boy was still there. He sighed and put the book down a little.

"You're not fit to be a ninja." said Kakashi. He was a little disappointed. The Sandaime's voice made it seem like this boy was something special. "I don't even know why you wasted your time at the academy. You should just go quit and find a nice hole and die." He was saying what he thought would be honest. It wasn't very nice, but it was the truth.

From the shadows of the trees where Sakura and Sasuke were planning their attempt, they looked at Naruto with pity and sympathy in their eyes. The boy would get no where. He was lazier than Shikimaru.

Just as Kakashi was about to leave, Naruto said something, "Kakashi-sensei…"

He turned around to face the boy. He was staring up at him with his sunglassed eyes, and his left hand was held out, palm facing towards the gray haired man. Beneath his mask, Kakashi smiled, and Sasuke and Sakura smiled from where they were. Seemed like the boy was smart enough to know when to quit.

Kakashi walked to the boy, and also held out his hand. He thought the boy wanted help up.

Suddenly, Kakashi felt something pressing down all around him. It was getting hard to breath, and he couldn't move. His thoughts were going slower, and his actions were getting sluggish. He saw Naruto closing his palm in front of him and his direction, and his mind was able to ask one last thing before he blacked out from the pressure.

'What the hell's he doing?'

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Naruto watched as Kakashi fell to the ground right in front of him. He unclenched the fist he had made, and swished his hand through the air. The air pressure around him changed, and a small breeze went through the training ground. Into Naruto's hand flew two silver bells.

Sakura and Sasuke jumped out of their hiding place and ran over to their sensei. He was lying on the floor.

"Dobe!" Sasuke cried out to Naruto, who was slowly standing up with the bells in his hand. He tossed one to Sakura, then one to Sasuke, both of whom caught them in surprise.

Sasuke and Sakura were watching him wearily. He had just taken down their Jonin sensei without touching him. That showed them one thing. He wasn't as helpless and weak as everyone had thought.

Wordlessly, Naruto walked over to Kakashi and picked him up like he was nothing. He started walking, with Kakashi on his back and Sasuke and Sakura following him.

None of them said anything to each other, and they walked in silence to the Hokage's Tower. It had taken them a little over an hour to reach the tower, and by the time they were there, Sasuke and Sakura were sweating lightly. Naruto didn't look winded or tired at all. He just had a blank look on his face. He kneeled down in front of the Hokage Tower doors, and gently put Kakashi down in front of it.

Sasuke, Sakura, and the guards around the doors watched as the boy just dropped the Jonin off and left with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched.

Soon after Naruto had left, one of the guards asked, "Why are you here?"

Sakura responded, "Well, Guard-san, we're here because…" She trailed off, looking at her sensei. 'Did Naruto kill him?' she asked herself in her mind.

"Our teammate, who you just saw leaving, managed to knock out our sensei, and he carried him here." Sasuke finished for her.

"How'd he do that?" asked the Guard in wonder.

"We don't know…"

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**Sorry if that Chapter was short and not up to my usual standards. It's been awhile…..I think….**

**Anyone, thanks for reading. This story will follow through the Naruto Canon with 'Minor' changes here and there. In this fic, Naruto has a bloodline, which I might reveal in the next couple chapters. One of the key words to it is in the title. Also, if you can imagine how Gaara crushes people in the sand, and how Darth Vader chokes people, then thats how Naruto does it.**

**Imaginary Assassin is up next, and I appreciate your reviews. **

**As always, please tell me if I made any mistakes or if you have any suggestions,**

**Dokugin**

**Word Count: 5,352 I was hoping there would be more….**

**Page Count: 11 **

**Time: Roughly 6 hours of thinking… **


	3. Bloodline

**Here's Chapter 3.**

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Chapter 3: Bloodline

Kakashi woke up and sat straight up. He was in a dark room, and only two sources of light were visible. Both came from two torches on either side of a man wearing white robes.

He immediately got up, then had to repress a hiss of pain as he bowed before the Hokage.

The Sandaime just chuckled, then motioned for him to sit.

"Now that we're all here," The Sandaime began.

"And conscious," Asuma added from Kakashi's left.

"We can begin with the results from the Genin Exams."

Each Jonin in the room gave their report, and then it was Kakashi's turn.

He was still hurting, and he couldn't move that well. He was about to talk when his mouth suddenly clamped shut. 'What am I supposed to tell them?' he thought in his mind worriedly looking around the room.

They were all looking at Kakashi and waiting for his response. Some of them looked bored, while the more inquisitive ones were looking for an explanation as to why he had been unconscious.

He spoke, "Team 7 passes." he said simply. Everyone in the room gasped and started asking questions.

"Quiet, please." the Sandaime said, holding up a hand to the rest of the Jonin. He seemed to have a knowing grin on his face. "Please explain to your fellow Jonin, Kakashi-san."

As they eagerly awaited his answer, he struggled to make one up. 'I can't say that I underestimated him. And I don't even know if he got the bells.' he thought. He discreetly lowered his hand to his hip, where the bells were supposed to be. He stifled a sigh, as he felt nothing. The rest of the Jonin had their bells, and he was the only one left with them.

He sighed once more, and couldn't suppress it. "Two of them immediately got the concept, and they automatically passed." he said, and Kurenai asked a question, "How? You can't just pass two and leave the other. It's either they all pass or they all fail."

"The other one got the bells," he said, scratching the back of his head and turning his head to the ground. He didn't want to see the looks of shock on the rest of the Jonin's faces or hear their voices asking them who it was.

The Sandaime just grinned at Kakashi, "You underestimated him, didn't you?"

Kakashi looked to the Sandaime sharply. A grin was marring his features, and he wasn't affected by the calls of the other Jonin. "Yes, I did."

This time, the Sandaime let out a laugh, and said, "I should have warned you about him."

"Sandaime-sama," said Ebisu, "Who is Kakashi-sempai talking about?"

"What about your other member?" asked Kurenai. "That Naruto. Was he the reason why you were found unconscious in front of the tower?"

"Yes," Kakashi said grudgingly, "He just held up his hand…" he trailed off, going back to his memories. All he had done was hold up his hand then squeeze it shut.

"And?"

"I felt like he was squeezing me, like I was in his fist, and he was squeezing the life out of me."

The Sandaime laughed, and everyone turned to look at him. "It's seems you've had a first hand experience of Naruto's Kekkei Genaki."

"He has a Kekkei Genkai?" asked Kakashi. "I've never heard of any clans named Uzumaki that had a bloodline like that."

"Ask him tomorrow. Tell him the kusojiji told him he could." Some Jonin in the room snickered at his name (Old goat), but he had silenced them with a glare.

"Now, about the rest of the teams…" Kakashi, however, was not listening to him. He was trying to take apart the puzzle that was Uzumaki Naruto.

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For every day, for the past two days he had waited at Training Ground 7. He was wearing the hiate he had received from Iruka for saving his life around his right arm, like and armband.

When he had knocked out his sensei, he had forgotten that he should have gotten where they were going to meet next. Instead of going out and finding him, he had decided to wait where they had met before. Everyday he had come back, and sat underneath a tree and waited for his sensei.

Sure enough, in two hours on the third day, a gray haired man with his headband held over his left eye walked up.

His visible eye curved into a 'U' and he put up a hand.

"Ohayou, Naruto." Kakashi said, walking up to where Naruto was sitting. He wasn't even looking at him, but he knew that Kakashi was there.

Kakashi didn't expect him to respond, but he wasn't surprised either, when he said, "Ohayou, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi then got on the grassy ground, and sat next to Naruto, underneath the shade of the tree.

The sat there in silence, as the wind breezed through the area. Kakashi waited, wanting to see if Naruto was the one who would start the conversation.

After a couple of minutes, it was clear that Kakashi would have to be the one who started the conversation.

"Naruto," he began, "I want to know what you did to me during the bell test."

He was being rather blunt about this. For the past two days, he had been searching for Naruto, hoping to find him and ask him what the power he had previously displayed had been. He had been pretty shocked when he learned from the Sandaime that Naruto had been waiting at the Training Ground for the past couple of days.

"I was told to tell you that the kusojiji told you to tell me what you did." Kakashi said, this time staring straight at Naruto. He had given no sign or indication that he had heard that. Kakashi sighed, and was about to get up before he spoke. "It's my Kekkei Genkai."

His voice seemed tired and weary. "What does it do?"

Naruto, sat there still, feeling the breeze blow by. "Many things." He answered cryptically.

"There's a lot of things that can do many things," Kakashi said, a little irritated. "What kind of things can your Kekkei Genkai do?"

"Terrible or honorable things," Naruto answered cryptically again. He was still looking out to the Training Ground. The breeze got stronger, but Kakashi waved it off.

"Can you just give me a straight answer?"

"Yes." The wind picked up more, but Kakashi still paid it no mind. It was now moving the trees slightly.

"Well then, what does it do?" Kakashi asked, this time angrily.

"What it allows me to do." said Naruto. Now his face was contorted into a mask of concentration. The wind picked up even more, and now Kakashi had to subconsciously add chakra to his feet to stick to the ground. For some reason, it looked like no wind was reaching Naruto.

"Alright, that's it." Kakashi said, exasperated. He walked over to Naruto, and pointed right at him. "As your sensei, I order you to tell me what your Kekkei Genkai does."

"You admit you're my sensei?" asked Naruto, his voice showing just a minute sense of smugness.

"Yes," Kakashi said, anger seeping into his voice. This boy had just changed the conversation on him. "Now, what does it do?" He yelled at Naruto over the howling winds.

Kakashi stopped, and thought. 'There's a lot of wind here, and I'm using my chakra to stick to the ground. There shouldn't be this much wind here, unless…' He looked over to Naruto, who was still looking out at the field. No wind seemed to be touching him, and he was sitting calmy on the grassy floor, oblivious to the wind.

"You can control the wind!" shouted Kakashi, over the wind. He had pulled up his Leaf headband and was looking at Naruto with the Sharingan. He wasn't moving, and the wind still seemed to be moving. It was obvious who was causing it.

"No." Naruto said simply, and Kakashi could hear him, even over the wind. It suddenly died down, and was back to a light and simple breeze. "My Kekkei Genkai does not allow me to control the wind."

Kakashi was now ready to tear his hair off. "THEN WHAT DOES IT DO!" He screamed at Naruto.

He still sat there calmly and in a simple tone, asked, "Do you know what causes wind?"

Kakashi stopped, and thought about it. After a moment, he shook his head. "Not many people do, Kakashi-sensei."

He stood up, and looked at Kakashi. Both hands lay limply at his sides. His shoulders were still hunched, like something was laid upon them. He gestured out to the training ground, "Wind is caused by a difference in pressure." He said in his normal voice, "It tends to travel from one area with high pressure, to one with low pressure."

Kakashi thought about it, and didn't see the connection. Seeing the confused look in Kakashi's eyes, he took off his sunglasses, and revealed his eyes to Kakashi.

Kakashi had to blink a few times and then stifle a gasp. His eyes looked so cold, and so merciless. They looked out of place from the rest of his calm demeanor. They were also reversed, with a red spot visible in his eyes.

"This is the Oshigan. The pressing eye." He said, looking into Kakashi's eyes. "It is both a burden, and a gift. It is always active and is much like a blade." He said.

"What do you mean, like a blade?" Kakashi was looking at the eye with his sharingan. It had chakra leaking out of it, but it was a black chakra, something he had never seen before.

"A blade that is unsheathed must always draw blood." Naruto explained, "My eye is the same."

"It takes your blood?" Kakashi asked horrified. He had pulled his hiate back into its normal position.

Naruto sighed, "No." He sad simply, before putting his sunglasses back on and walking away.

"Wait!" cried Kakashi. Naruto still kept going. Seeing he wasn't going to be able to turn him back, he called out, "Meet here tomorrow at 9! I'll bring the others!"

Soon, Kakashi was left alone in the middle of the field, his thoughts straying. 'Maybe I should go visit Obito' He thought in his mind, and headed for the Memorial Stone.'

Kakashi had been so distracted during his talk with Naruto, he had failed to notice the dark and pink haired people that had been hiding in the tree above him.

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**I am extremely sorry if the Chapter is short. I have this new idea in my head, and it won't die, no matter how many times I bang my head against the wall. **

**The only problem with that is, I don't know how to present it, so I'm going to ask a question. **

**Have there ever been any KOTOR crossovers with Naruto? I saw a trailer for Force Unleashed, and now it won't leave me alone. I was up last night, and couldn't sleep (not that I do much of that…) because it didn't want to die….**

**I'm still looking for someone to take Fire Storm, and I apologize immensely if this chapter was way to short, **

**Dokugin**

**Oh yeah, next chapter for this will be Mission to Wave**

**Word Count: 1,901**

**Page Count: 5**

**Time: 1 hour**


	4. Mission to Wave

**Just got back from vacation…**

**Also, a quick question. Is anyone getting alerts for their stories on thie Emails? I can't get anything...**

**Here's Chapter 4**

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Chapter 4: Mission to Wave

"_..And now, I present to you the man considered to be the best fighter here, Uzumaki Naruto!" The cried out loud, to the disgust of the crowd._

_Minute after minute, day after day, week after week. Years followed by years. That was how long he had been fighting, ever since he had been born. It was his life, and it was how he lived it. _

_The crowd hated him. All of them had lost money to his owner, and everyone hated him for it. In a way, he was to blame. He let himself be controlled, when he could have easily broken through it. Maybe it was the destiny the chains of fate had tied him to. Perhaps he was always destined to fight. _

_He walked onto the playing field, the crowds throwing all sorts of things at him. A rock came flying at him, but he caught it in his hand. Using the Oshigan, he hardened the rock and held it in his fist. He would be able to use it later. _

_He looked over to his opponents, all of whom looked ready to kill. They would not be able to however. Their eyes were not like his. _

"_Hajime!" _

_All three came rushing at him, twirling their weapons in the air. He just stood, waiting for them to come to him. The first one reached him, and swung the katana he held in his hands toward him. He just side stepped, and brought the side of his right hand down on the back of his neck. He tumbled forward, dead when he broke his neck. _

_The next one came, this one holding a knife. He held it in front of him, swaying it threateningly in front of him. He suddenly shot forward, stabbing the air in front of him. This time, he had simply stepped back, deducing that he would under aim. His assumption was correct, and the man with the knife had paid for his mistake. He got hold of the back of the man's head with his palms, and jumped. He brought his knee cap into the bottom of his neck, using the momentum and force to push upward._

_It was a powerful blow, and knocked the man's neck back enough to break the bones. He fell to the ground dead, he himself landing on the floor soon afterwards. _

_The last remaining man, holding a chain whip, gulped. He had seen this boy, probably not even five, take down two armed fully grown men without effort. He hardened his eyes, and faced the boy. _

_He looked straight into his eyes, and could not help but gasp. They were cold, and seemed very out of place on him. They were narrowed, as if he was always watching and always holding something in. They were the eyes of a man who had forced to kill, and had to learn how to do so well. They were the eyes of a killer. _

_Out of nowhere, the boy turned his head to the side, and walked away. _

"_Boy, what the hell do you think you're doing!" Screamed his owner from the stands. The boy was at the stairs to go off the arena, and the only other living combatant was staring at him dumbfounded. If he left, he would win. _

_Suddenly, the boy's left hand shot out, pointing straight at the man. From it came a normal looking rock. It impacted against the man with the whip, and embedded itself deep into his chest. He fell forward, bleeding and dead._

"…we have a couple of D-ranked missions here, and some even better D-ranked missions…" Iruka said. The scarred man had recovered well after the incident with Mizuki. Now he was working in the Hokage's Mission Office, assigning missions to Genin and Chunin teams. The Jonin's were personally given missions by the Hokage.

After the day Naruto had explained his Kekkei Genkai, they had started doing their D-Ranked Missions every Genin team was required to do. They all had to meet a quota, and theirs had been finished a long time ago. Their "missions" were menial tasks that ranged from walking some dogs, to helping an old lady with her laundry. During these missions, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura tried to get more information on his Kekkei Genkai, but Naruto did his tasks without talking.

For all of these tasks, only Kakashi noticed something strange. Naruto seemed to be able to do these tasks extremely easy, while Sakura and Sasuke were having a hard time. He did the dishes or helped with the laundry better than they, and seemed less reluctant to do so. The boy was a mystery, that was for certain.

"Excuse me, Iruka-sensei." Naruto spoke suddenly, looking up from the mission sheet. He had been looking over the missions currently available, looking to see if one was high paying. "Are there any other missions we can do?"

Iruka was a little taken aback. He had never heard the boy talk, yet he had done so easily in his presence. "Naruto-san, you don't have to add sensei to my name anymore. I'm not your teacher anymore." He smiled at the boy, who was still looking at the missions.

"Naruto-kun, you can't just ask for more missions. Those D-Ranked ones are the only ones we are capable of doing." Sakura chided, moving her finger to her words. Sometimes, she still treated him like a little kid.

"She's right, dobe." Sasuke said. To be honest, he was getting a little tired of the repetitive D-Ranks also.

The Hokage chuckled form where he sat, watching the Team 7. Kakashi appeared to be reading his Icha Icha Paradise book, but his visible eye was watching Naruto curiously. This was the first time he had spoken for two months. Even during basic training with Team 7 he didn't talk. Sasuke and Sakura were looking at Naruto, who was still shuffling through the catalog for missions.

"You need more money for them, don't you Naruto-kun?" the Hokage chuckled. That explained it.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Naruto said, laying the book down and looking at the Hokage, "They're taking up a little more money than I have right now. I need a higher paid mission. If my teammates cannot handle it," He looked at Sakura and Sasuke, "Then I request that I be able to go alone."

"Naruto, you can't just go making requests to the Hokage for that. Besides, you can't possibly handle a mission more than D-Ranked by yourself." Iruka said. He had been unconscious when he had killed Mizuki, so he doubted his skills a little. "And missions are supposed to be taken as a team. You can't just go alone."

"I understand," Naruto said, bowing his head to the Hokage and his teammates in an apologetic gesture.

The Hokage just chuckled more and said, "We happen to have a C-Ranked mission here. If you and your teammates can agree to it, then you can have it."

"But, Hokage-sama…" Iruka began.

"We'll take it," Kakashi said immediately, putting down his book and looking at the Hokage. He was interested in seeing Naruto's skills.

"Kakashi-san…" Iruka began, but was cut off again, this time by Sasuke.

"Hn. We can handle it." Sasuke said, his arms crossed.

Sakura, seeing her crush say this spoke, "Yeah! We can do it!"

"Then it's settled," The Hokage said, clapping his hands and laughing. "Iruka, please bring Tazuna-san out here." Iruka just nodded and grumbled a quick "Hai," before walking out the door.

Team 7 stood there, waiting in silence for the one the Hokage called Tazuna.

"Naruto," The Hokage said, breaking the silence and looking at the silent member of Team 7, "Why don't you ever come to visit us anymore?"

"I've been busy, Hokage-sama." Naruto replied to the Hokage.

"They're getting harder to handle?" He asked Naruto.

"Hai. They keep asking for things we don't have."

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were at a loss at the Hokage and Naruto's conversation. It didn't make sense at all.

The Hokage laughed, and quickly wiped a tear from his eye. He was sad for him, having to do all that by himself. "You know if you ever need any help…" He said, looking at Naruto.

"You shouldn't ask that, Hokage-sama. You know you can't. Besides, one day, we'll all have to stand on our own." He said wisely, somehow sounding natural to the thirteen year old boy.

The Hokage sighed. He knew he would not be able to help them. After all, if the Council found out…

The door opened, and out stepped Iruka and a man wearing glasses and holding a bottle of Sake.

"So, these are the punks who are going to protect me?" The man laughed. They assumed him to be drunk, and their future client. "They all look rich and snobbish." He laughed drunkenly, his eyes sweeping over them. He sobered up immediately when his eyes saw Naruto, whose clothes were still ripped, torn, and dirty. He muttered out a quick apology to him, and turned to face the Hokage.

"Yes, these are the ones going to protect you, Tazuna-san. I'll have you explain your situation to them." The Hokage said to him.

"Hai." Tazuna answered, his head tilted in shame. The boy looked even more poorly dressed than him. He turned to Team 7, and said, "My name is Tazuna. I'm a bridge builder and I come from the Land of Waves. I just need some protection from bandits and such. Please don't expect too much."

Kakashi nodded and walked over to him. He held out his hand, and his visible eye shifted into an upside down 'U'. "I'm Hatake Kakashi." He said while shaking the man's hand. "This is Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto." He said pointing them out one at a time.

"Sumimasen (sorry)" He said to Naruto, walking over to him and bowing his head. "I didn't mean…"

"Okay." Naruto said, looking at the man behind his shades. Inside his mind, the cogs in his mind were moving.

"Okay, Team 7 and Tazuna!" Kakashi said, "Tomorrow we meet at the East Gate at 7 in the morning. Bring all the stuff you need, and don't bring anything more. Remember, and don't be late!" He said, poofing away in a plume of smoke. His last words were followed by the sweat drops of Sasuke and Sakura, who were thinking the same thing.

Naruto just nodded and turned away, waving good bye to the Hokage before leaving.

"Naruto, bring them along and come visit us sometime!" The Hokage called to Naruto, who nodded his head and left.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other, and parted ways, hoping to get ready for their upcoming C-Ranked mission.

"He's had a hard life, hasn't he?" Tazuna asked the Hokage.

"You have no idea," The Hokage replied sadly, looking at the door Naruto had left from.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama." A feminine voice called from one of the doors. Standing there was Team 8, led by Yuhi Kurenai. "We're here to get a mission."

"Over here, please." Iruka called, gesturing them over, leaving the Hokage in his thoughts.

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The puddle lay on the side of the road. It was so obvious.

They had all come early, including Kakashi much to the shock of Sakura and Sasuke, at the designated meeting place. At exactly 7 in the morning, they had set off, leaving the Gates of Konoha behind. They had estimated it would take at least two days to reach Wave, with the occasional stop for food and rest in between.

No one noted that during the stops that they made for food or rest, that Naruto never ate or rested. In fact, he had not brought anything at all. All he had were the clothes he always wore.

It was probably 2 o'clock when they first saw the puddle. It had been unbelievably hot for the past couple of days, with no clouds to cover the sky. There was no chance there could have been a puddle there. After having trained with Kakashi, they were able to spot this, as his motto which he taught to his students was, "Ninja's always look underneath the underneath."

Kakashi looked at Sasuke, who nodded and discreetly put his hand near his kunai pouch. Sakura saw this and walked beside Tazuna, her hand also going to the kunai at her side. Meanwhile, Kakashi was getting ready for a Doton Jutsu, which would unable him to go underground.

Meanwhile, Naruto was walking along, his hands in his pockets and his eyes turned toward the ground. He walked by the puddle, and before anyone could stop him, they leaped out.

They were both probably low Chunin's, thought they would still pose a challenge to any normal Genin. However, Naruto was not a normal Genin.

Their chains wrapped around him, and tried to squeeze the life out of him. He did not appear to be bothered, as he had slipped his arms through the chains. The Demon Brothers saw this and pulled on their chains harder, hoping to crush him. Naruto just stood in their chains calmly, holding each of his hands out to one of the brothers. He slowly balled his hands into fists, and the chains were suddenly loosening.

They could not move. It felt as if something was pressing down on them from all sides and from every part of their body.

"Let's which of us can take more pressure," Naruto said, his hands nearly balled into fists. The brothers were now turning blue, from the lack of oxygen and the force that was pressing them.

"Naruto, stop." Kakashi said to Naruto. Tazuna, Sasuke, and Sakura were standing there, mouths agape. It seemed Naruto had just taken down two Chunin level nin's, while still surviving their onslaught. "We need them for information."

"All the information we need, we can get from their corpses." Naruto said, his voice cold and emotionless. His whole posture and voice had changed. He was tense, and seemed more hunched over, possibly because he was in a fighting position. The chain fell away, and they saw Naruto's body.

They had thought there would be imprints of some sort from the chains, but there was nothing. He didn't even look like a chain had just been wrapped around him, squeezing him to death.

"Naruto, as your sensei, I order you to stop!" Kakashi yelled at Naruto, whose hands were now fully balled into fists. Blood was slowly trickling down the Demon Brother's bodies, seeking to find some way out.

Naruto loosened his fists, and made his hands into a hold as if he was going to strangle someone. Each of his hands were pointed at the Demon Brothers, who were lying unconscious on the floor.

"Hai," He said through clenched teeth. It seemed like Naruto had trouble holding back, as his hands were flexing in and out of their strangling hold.

Kakashi walked over to the Demon Brother nearest to them, and examined him. Some parts of his body looked like they had been collapsed, most likely from some outside pressure. He was bleeding from his mouth and nose and his eyes were popped.

"Sumimasen." Naruto said, lowering his arms with a tremendous amount of effort. "It is difficult for me to hold back."

Sakura looked like she was about to throw up, and Tazuna was looking at the boy he had said was poorer than him in wonder.

'When I get the Sharingan, I'll be able to surpass his stupid bloodline.' Sasuke thought, looking at Naruto.

"We'll talk about this later." Kakashi said, picking up both Demon Brothers and shuffling through their pockets, "They don't have any identification on them, except for these scratched headbands from Kiri. They're obviously missing-nin." Kakashi said. He reached into his kunai pouch, the same one he takes the Icha Icha Paradise books from, and took from it a small blue book. He opened it and flipped through a couple of pages. He stopped on one and hm'd softly. "These are the Demon Brothers. Classified as Chunin nuke-nin, who fled from Kiri in the company of Momochi Zabuza, known as the Demon of the Mist." Kakashi's only visible eye widened, then struck Tazuna with an accusing glare. "This is supposed to be a C-ranked mission. On C-Ranked missions, one doesn't normally encounter two Chunin nuke-nins. That would apply to a B-Ranked mission. Based on what it says in the Bingo Book, one wouldn't normally face a Jonin level nuke-nin, much less one who is known in the shinobi world as the Demon of the Mist, and the Master of Silent Homicide. That might apply to an A-Ranked mission or higher. Tell me, Tazuna-san. Why did you lie about your situation?" Kakashi looked straight at Tazuna, who was looking down at the ground ashamed.

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"…And that's why we couldn't pay enough for an A-Ranked mission." Tazuna said, his head still tilted to the ground in shame.

They had walked onward during the day, and night had fallen. They had stopped, and Kakashi had Sasuke make a fire, while Sakura and Naruto went out to go gather logs.

Apparently, the Land of Waves was having trouble with a man named Gato, who was oppressing the power and economy of the village. Tazuna was a bridge builder, who had designed a bridge that would connect the Land of Waves to the mainland, so their economy could start again. Gato didn't want that, as his income would drop, so he had hired shinobi to kill him, among them the Demon Brothers and Zabuza.

"We can't do this," Sakura muttered. Kakashi had offered them the Bingo Book to read, so they could see who Zabuza Momochi was, and why he was famous. After reading it, most hope for them had been lost. "We're only Genin. We can't go against missing-nin."

"As much as I hate to say it," Sasuke said, staring at Kakashi, "I think we should quit and turn back now. If we go on, we might die."

Sasuke didn't want to die yet. Itachi wasn't dead yet, and what doesn't kill you, will most likely hinder you.

"Then it's agreed," Kakashi said, shooting a quick glance at Naruto. He was sitting on the floor in front of the fire. His right leg was bent up, and his arm lay atop it. His left arm and leg lay limp, and he seemed to be staring at the fire, not listening to the conversation. "We'll turn back in the morning." He turned to Tazuna, who had a disappointed expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Tazuna-san. My team cannot handle this kind of mission yet."

Tazuna sighed, and looked into the fire, contemplating on what he would do next.

"Can you still pay for the C-Ranked?" Naruto asked suddenly. His voice broke through the silence that had descended upon them, but he was still staring into the fire.

Tazuna nodded, before realizing Naruto wasn't even looking at him, and was about to say yes, before he spoke. "Then I will continue with the mission, alone if need be."

"Naruto," Kakashi warned, but Naruto turned swiftly to face him, "No, Kakashi-sensei. This is my decision. I understand the risks, and am willing to sacrifice my life for them." It didn't seem like he was talking about the mission anymore, because his normally calm demeanor seemed to have been replaced by a grim determination.

"Naruto-kun," Sakura said, "I know you want to help Tazuna-san, but…"

"You are mistaken, Haruno-san." Naruto said, his voice turning cold. His whole body was morphing, changing his whole posture and everything about him. Where his back had been hunched and his arms lay limply at his sides, they were now tightened, enough for the observers to see the muscles in his arms. His teeth were clenched, and they could hear them scraping against each other. He was frightening Sakura slightly, as her image of the calm and stoic boy was shattered. "I am not doing this for Tazuna-san."

Tazuna looked a little hurt, but not so much. He was just happy that someone would be helping him.

"Then there's no reason for to do it, dobe." Sasuke said, looking at his sensei. He hoped the gray haired man would shove some sense into him.

Tazuna and Kakashi were looking instently at Naruto, who seemed determined to go through with the mission.

"There are many reason for everything, Uchiha-san." Naruto said, moving his eyes from the fire to face Sasuke. He stood to his full height, and looked at Sasuke. "Like why you're brother massacred your clan, and left you alive."

Tazuna understood this now, why he was determined to complete the mission. The clues had fallen in, and he could see now. The way he dressed and why he had asked if he would still pay for a C-Class mission, despite the consequences. He was willing to risk it all, much like he was.

"You're a determined young man, aren't you Uzumaki-san?" He said, watching with a smile on his face. Sasuke had tried punching Naruto in the face, but Kakashi had stopped it in time. "You must be willing to do everything possible for them, aren't you?"

"We need it," He replied curtly. He was suddenly back to his usual manner, along with his usual voice. He bowed to Sasuke, followed by Kakashi, and then to Sakura. "Gomen, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-san, Sasuke-san. I'm sorry for losing control, but I need the money." He said, before bowing once again.

Sakura looked at him sympathetically. He always looked this way, and he always looked poor. His clothes just screamed it after all.

Sasuke just hmp'd and turned away from him.

Kakashi was now more than curious. The normally calm boy had turned nearly violent in a second. He could have sworn he had felt something pressing down on him for a mere second before it was loosened. There was something here that was curious about Naruto.

"Well, it's the team's decision, Naruto." Kakashi said, "If they decide they want to abandon the mission and fail it, then I have to abide by that. Right now, you're outnumbered. Both Sakura and Sasuke want out, and as your sensei, I cannot allow you to resume this dangerous mission."

Naruto just nodded, before sitting back down. He looked normal, but if you looked closely, you could see his jaws moving back and forth, as if he was grinding his teeth.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but it's the team, not me." Kakashi said, as some final words to the boy.

He would find out why the boy seemed so determined to gain some money. He didn't look like a gambler, yet he was still poor. From what he had heard, the boy was an orphan, but the amount of money he got from the Council should have been enough to pay for his clothes, so that didn't explain why he always looked shabby. He couldn't have possibly spent all the money on food because he looked hungry most of the times. Once during training, his stomach had growled in the middle of a mission. It had given away their position to their enemy, and they had to chase the damned animal for a good two hours before calling it quits.

"Actually, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura said quietly, looking at Naruto. He looked a little sad not being able to complete the mission.

'Probably because he doesn't want to be considered a failure again.' Sakura said, looking at the boy sadly, 'He's always such a sad looking boy.'

"I'd like to continue with the mission, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said, mustering enough courage to speak up and say it. Sasuke had shot her a disappointed look with a hint of anger, and it took all the will power she could muster to not cry at disappointing her Sasuke-kun.

"Well, then, that's settled," Kakashi said, turning his eye into an upside down 'U', "We're going to escort you back to Wave tomorrow, Tazuna-san."

Tazuna looked overjoyed, and he jumped into the air, calling out a loud, 'Yosh!' Kakashi quickly caught Tazuna in the air, and placed a hand on his mouth.

"For the sake of our lives though, I suggest we quiet down a little and get some sleep. We don't need to alert our enemies to where we are." He whispered.

Tazuna only nodded, and sat down in front of the fire with a smile on his face. "Thank you, Team 7. When the bridge is completed and our economy is better, we'll pay you the full price of an A-Ranked mission, along with more for lying to you in the first place." He smiled and looked at the team. Kakashi had gone off on watch, and Sasuke had fallen asleep. Sakura was up by the fire, sitting near Naruto. She was looking deeply into it and wiping a little tear from her cheek.

'Looks like all the progress I made with Sasuke-kun is all going to waste,' She thought, using the back of her palm to rub her eyes. 'All because I had to act like a big sister to Naruto…' She stifled a sob, and someone's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Arigatogozaimasu, Haruno-san." Naruto spoke quietly, looking at Sakura. She turned to face him, and could not help but have her heart jump at seeing him.

For the first time to another person outside his group, Naruto smiled. It was a small smile, but it was enough to get his point across. To a person who was normally emotionless, this was somewhat of a big step for Sakura. If you just looked at his face, you would see that he was somewhat cute, in a sad, but good way.

As soon as Sakura had seen the smile, it was quickly replaced by his usual mask of indifference.

It was enough however, to send Sakura sleeping with a smile on her face, the thought of making someone happy making her happy.

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**This will NOT be a Naru/Saku. I just want to clarify that, to those of who took the last part the wrong way. **

**I've dropped some hints to Naruto's personal life in this chapter, and probably two chapters from now I will show you more. I'll start on Chapter 5 tomorrow, after I take my Robotics/Physics class, or I'll continue writing more of Chapter 2 Force of an Echo. It sounds really good to where I'm at right now, and I might get more ideas for it.**

**I might be hella late with the updates though, as I've found a new game to play. It's called 2Moons, and the OB just started a few days ago. The graphics don't look as good as I thought they would, but they're still good. **

**Tell me if you have any suggestions, or need ideas, **

**Dokugin**

**Word Count: 4,529**

**Page Count: 10**

**Time: Roughly 7 hours…with many stops in between…Damn you Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Zero no Tsukaima, and Kenichi…You keep making me go back and checking to see if you're all already subbed…**


	5. Haku and Zabuza

**Rejoice, I guess. Here's Chapter 5, and Chapter 6 may be coming soon, as I already have the idea of it on paper. **

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Chapter 5: Haku-chan and Zabuza-san

_He stood and watched, waiting as the man ran forward. _

_The man in front of him threw a kunai, and it spilt the skin deeply across his right shoulder. He ignored it, and the cheers from the crowd, gaining hope that this man would eventually kill Naruto. _

_It was hopeless. _

_The man jumped into the air, pulling three kunai from his pouch, making several hand seals in the process. _

"_Seisokukane no jutsu (Art of the Living Metal… I think)," He shouted, as the kunai suddenly flung towards Naruto at high speeds. He moved to the left, still analyzing the man's movements. The kunai did not whiz past him as he had expected, instead turning to their right to angle themselves at him. He held his hands out, unmoving as he prepared to bring on pressure. The kunai thudded deep into his legs, and he gasped out in pain. _

_It was the only hit the man was able to get in, as he was crushed, blood spewing everywhere. _

"Ohayou, Kenrai-san." Tazuna greeted the man, smiling as he shook his hand.

"Oi, Tazuna-sama, you're back!" He shouted, shaking Tazuna's hand in return. "You going to complete that bridge yet?"

Tazuna laughed, rubbing the back of his head, while holding onto a bottle of sake with his other hand. "Who're these people?" Kenrai asked, indicating Team 7.

"We're ninja from Konoha, and our mission is to protect Tazuna-san while he completes his bridge." Kakashi said, to the delight of Kenrai.

"You're ninja eh? Maybe now that you're here, Tazuna-sama will be able to complete the bridge, and we can all live happily ever after." He laughed, shaking his stomach.

He jumped onto the dock where his ship was harbored, as he untied the rope that held the ship. "Get on, and watch your step. These waters are icy cold this time of year."

Tazuna and Team 7 nodded, boarding the ship with utmost care.

Soon, Kenrai jumped onto the boat, causing it to move in in the water. "We'll be in Wave in around two hours. You can make yourselves comfortable. There's a kitchen below deck, and a lounge area up here. If you'd like to do some fishing, I suggest you don't." He laughed, to the confusion of everyone.

Tazuna explained, "There's no fish in these waters. It's too cold and polluted for anything to survive long down there. You'd probably die if you stayed in there for a minute at the most."

Team 7 nodded, taking this in mind.

"We're setting off now," Kenrai yelled, walking up the deck to the captain's wheel. "If you have any problems, or if you're seasick, just come to me."

The boat suddenly started moving, the engine behind them chugging quietly in the background, as they made their way through the peaceful waters of the ocean.

Kakashi sat down on one of the chairs above deck, pulling out an orange book, to the interest of Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto was leaning over to the side, appearing to be watching as the boat made its way through the water.

"What are you reading, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked him, curious. "I saw you reading that book during the Genin test."

"Is it some sort of tactics book?" questioned Sasuke, peering at it closely, hoping to find some elite Jonin secrets in there.

He could not tell anything else from the book, other than the fact it was orange, and Kakashi seemed very interested in reading it.

"It's sort of like a tactics book," Kakashi murmured, to which Tazuna laughed.

"Do you really think it's good to be reading something like that in public, and with kids around Kakashi-san?" Kakashi nodded in response.

Sasuke leaned closer, hoping to catch a snippet of what Kakashi was reading.

"_Oh, I love you Oturan," She quietly said, her hands tightening around his waist, as he squeezed her. _

_She looked up, into his blue colored eyes. _

"_I love you too, Atanih," He said, before he leaned forward, passionately kissing her as their clothes slowly dropped to the floor…. _

"WHAT THE HELL?" Sasuke screamed, causing everyone but Naruto to look over at him in puzzlement. "WHAT KIND OF SMUT IS THIS?"

"Good smut," Kakashi said, letting his eye leave his book and to look at Sasuke, his eye an upside down 'U'. "Very good smut."

Kenrai laughed, along with Tazuna, before returning to his duties. Sakura looked embarrassed at having her teacher reading smut while on a mission. Naruto was still quietly off to the side, leaning over the ship.

After a while, Tazuna spoke up, "Is this your first time out of Fire Country and on the seas?"

"It's my first time," Sasuke said, looking at Tazuna. "From what I read in Academy books, the sea seemed kind of nicer. Here, it just seems depressing."

"It's my first time too, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said happily, now having something in common with her Sasuke.

Tazuna chuckled, looking to see if Kakashi would respond. "I've been at sea before," He said, "It was a great memory. Well, not exactly at sea. We were at a beach, with three smoking hot ladies, and they all…"

"Don't say a word, Ero-sensei." Sakura told him, saying it murderously. "Don't say anything."

Kakashi just shrugged, before returning his attention to his book.

"What about you, Uzumaki-san?" Tazuna asked the silent boy, who had not said anything since coming on the boat. He was just leaning over the side of the ship, quietly bobbing his head back and forth.

"Uzumaki-san?" Tazuna asked again, when he didn't respond after a few minutes. "Have you ever been to the sea before?"

The ship suddenly gave a violent lurch, stopping for a moment before moving forward again, as Kenrai stuck his head out of the captain's wheel room and apologized profusely.

"I accidentally put down anchor for a second," He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Gomennesai."

Tazuna was not worried about that though. When the ship had made that sudden lurch, Naruto had thrown his head back, and had leaned even more over the side of the boat.

Realization struck Tazuna, as he yelled to Naruto, "Why didn't you say something?" He rushed over to his side, Sakura and Kakashi following after him, worried for the safety of their teammate. Sasuke had stayed behind, seemingly not caring about him.

Tazuna grabbed Naruto by the back of his overcoat, and hauled him onto the deck.

Sakura gasped, while Kakashi shook his head.

Naruto was very pale, and had a trail of vomit dripping down his chin.

"Gomen," He mumbled, before running over to the side of the boat, throwing up once more. He stopped after a while, returning back to Team 7 and Tazuna. "I didn't want to worry you."

Tazuna hit him lightly over the head. "Baka. If you're seasick, don't try to keep it in. Tell someone. Now, go to Kenrai, so he can help you."

Naruto nodded solemnly, before running over to the side of boat, throwing up again.

Kakashi only shook his head once more, returning back to his chair and reading his novel.

Sakura waited for Naruto to be finished, before warpping her shoulder around his arms and helping him up the stairs to see Kenrai.

"Good kami." He whispered, looking at Naruto's face. "You're the most seasick person I've ever had the misfortune to meet."

Naruto only bowed his head, and muttered an apology, before quickly running out of the room, and leaning over the side of the boat to throw up.

Kenrai shook his head, before turning to Sakura, giving her a key. "Tell him to go downstairs, into the kitchen. There, he'll find some green packets for tea. It's a special mix, designed to help those who are seasick. Just in case, here's the key to the storage room. He can get a bucket there. I don't care if he's seasick. He makes a mess on my ship, he's cleaning it up."

Sakura nodded in understanding, before going outside and patting Naruto on the back, slightly disgusted as he emptied the empty contents of his stomach.

Soon, he stopped and Sakura was able to get his attention. "Naruto-kun, Kenrai-san says that you can go downstairs to the kitchen, where there's some blue packets for tea. He told me that just in case, go to the storage room and grab a bucket."

She looked at Naruto, who had simply nodded and was heading downstairs. "Matte, Naruto-kun." Sakura called to him, as he stopped and looked back at her. "Do you think you'll need help?"

Naruto shook his head warily, before walking downstairs, the key in one hand, and holding his stomach with the other.

Soon after he went down, a strange mist rolled in, completely covering the boat and obscuring the waters in front.

"Be careful out there!" Kenrai yelled, sticking his head out from the room. "It's been known that ice can form on boats when fogs roll in!"

They all nodded hastily, looking for any signs of freezing on the ship.

Out of nowhere, the boat suddenly stopped, causing those on board to stumble.

"What the hell is Kenrai thinking?" Tazuna mumbled, heading towards the captain's wheel room alone.

"Wait, Tazuna-san." Kakashi said, lifting up his headband to reveal a red eye with three comma like dots surrounding the pupil. Sasuke's gaze hardened, recognizing the eye for what it was. When Kakashi had revealed his eye during the time Naruto was explaining his bloodline, he had not been able to see it clearly because they were in a bad position to see anything. Kakashi motioned to the others, who followed.

"Sharingan…" Sasuke whispered, his voice full of malice.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, worried because Sasuke had suddenly tensed. "What's the matter?"

'Why does he have it?' Sasuke wondered, clenching his fists together. 'Only the Uchiha possess those eyes. Even then, they have two, not one.'

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke asked straight on, demanding answers. "Why do you have-"

He was cut off, by a look from Kakashi that told him they would discuss this later. Sasuke just grumbled, and got back into his position.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whispered, wondering how her Sasuke was.

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Naruto had found the bucket first, throwing up in it on the way to the kitchen.

He opened the door slowly, and sat down at the chair at the table. He dropped the bucket at his feet, and put his head in his arms, sighing miserably.

"Could you hand me a cup of tea, fake Hunter-nin-san?" He asked, much to the surprise of the person in the shadows. "I'm sick, and I don't think I'll be able to do it myself."

He sighed once more, before suddenly moving his head out of his arms, into the bucket.

The boat stopped moving, and he soon put his head back up, wiping at his chin.

"Arigato." He said, sipping the tea the fake Hunter-nin had made him.

"You are acting rather coolly," The fake-Hunter-nin said, taking off the mask and putting it on the chair. It was a girl, a beautiful girl with nice hair and skin. She smiled at him, as he sipped his tea. "I could have made that tea poisonous, for all you know."

Naruto put the tea down, and poured himself another cup from the kettle the girl had put on the table. "That's why you didn't." He answered, drinking another cup of tea.

"How do you know that? You've already pointed out I'm a fake Hunter-nin, which shows you're really observant, and the fact you didn't even react when you walked into the room, despite knowing I was here ever since, which shows you can be calm." She poured herself a cup of tea, and sipped it slowly and quietly.

"If you were a real Hunter-nin, you would have immediately taken out your target, instead of hanging around down here. I doubt I am your target, because you have yet to attack me. I am calm because of this, and confident you will not attack me or attempt to attack me during any point in our conversation." He clarified, "Because of these two things, I know you did not poison this tea, which I will quietly sip right now, to ensure my seasickness no longer bothers me."

He drank down the cup of tea, as she observed his every movement.

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They had walked upstairs, to find the reason why the boat had stopped.

Lying there, dead with his throat slit, was Kenrai. The mechanism to move the boat was frozen solid, and Kakashi didn't want to risk using one of the Fire Jutsu in his arsenal ot burn the ship.

"Kenrai…" Tazuna said, horror stricken at the fact his friend was now dead.

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura immediately pulled kunai out of their pouches, holding them aloft.

"Protect Tazuna." Kakashi ordered, looking around with both eyes, trying to spot movement.

"The Demon of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi stated, gripping his kunai tighter. "Master of the Silent Homicide Technique." He was stalling for time, formalizing an attack pattern in his mind. "Everyone, go out to the deck. There's a lot more room there." He said quietly under his breath.

The group started moving, surrounding Tazuna and keeping him in the middle.

They were soon in the middle of the deck, the fog around them on all sides. Kakashi saw a flash of light coming from his right, and quickly held the kunai up, having to use both of his hands to stop the force of the blade.

"Copy Cat Kakashi." The man named Zabuza called him, looking at him with eye brow less eyes. "Known to be the man who copied over a thousand ninjutsu."

Sakura and Sasuke froze, feeling the killing intent leeking off the man.

'What is this?' Wondered Sasuke. 'It's like something's keeping me from moving. What's causing this?'

'We're going to die!' Sakura screamed into her mind, on the outside shaking. 'There's so many things I haven't gotten to do, and we're going to die!'

"Don't worry," Kakashi grunted to his students. "I'll beat him, and we can all go to Tazuna's house and celebrate afterwards." Even though he was struggling to keep the blade back, he managed to curve his eyes up, making upside down 'U's to show he was smiling.

Zabuza jumped back, taking his blade along with him.

Sasuke and Sakura unfroze at the sound of Kakashi's reassuring voice. For once, both were glad to have their perverted sensei with them.

Zabuza struck once more, coming from the side. He nearly cleaved Sakura's head from her body, but Sasuke had pulled her down by her hair to the ground just in time, so it went sailing across harmlessly.

As the blade was passing over the girl's head, Kakashi struck out with the kunai, throwing it in the direction the giant sword came from.

The owner of the blade pulled it up, deflecting the kunai. Because the blade had been blocking his view because he had blocked the kunai, Kakashi was able to use his speed, and get in close.

He aimed a metal-plated gloved hand at Zabuza's face, hitting him square in the chin, sending him flying back into the fog.

Sakura looked up, her eyes filled with tears, but also with relief and hope. She looked up at Sasuke, who had gone back into position and was now guarding Tazuna, leaving Sakura on the floor. 'Sasuke-kun saved me.' She thought, looking at the black haired boy with an idol-like obsession. 'He really saved me. That means he does care!'

"Sakura, remember your duties." Kakashi said, holding his kunai up, shifting his eyes through the fog to see for any signs of Zabuza. He saw something running towards him, the footsteps light and quick. It ran up to him, slashing upwards with a diagonal slash aimed for his chest.

He jumped, flipped in the air, and threw the kunai at Zabuza. It hit him in the chest, and melted into water.

'Mizu Bushin.' He thought, as he landed on the ship. He turned to Sasuke and Sakura, who were still surrounding Tazuna. "He's made Mizu Bushin!" He called to his students, warning them of the danger. No matter how could you were, you could still be overrun with numbers. Thank kami he had taught them that much. "Be on your guard! I'm going after him!"

His students nodded, before readying their eyes, training them to look everywhere and spot everything.

On the inside, Kakashi smiled. These were some really good kids, and would make even finer shinobi. The only thing left though, was to see where their enigmatic teammate was.

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They heard several thumps coming from upstairs, as they both sipped their tea, staring straight across the table to stare at the other.

"You're not at a level Genin should be." The girl finally said, putting down her cup quietly.

Naruto also put his cup down, staring at her. He did not respond, and she was forced to ask another question. "Who trained you?"

After a moment's thought, he answered, "My sensei."

She only gave him a dumbfounded expression. "Who was your sensei?"

"A man." was all he said, as he sipped his tea once more. He put his cup down, and placed his hands beneath the table, where she could not see.

She only sighed, as more thumps, both loud and soft, came from upstairs. She ignored them, knowing what would be causing them. It was obviously Kakashi and Zabuza, by the sounds of their foot steps.

"You know, if I don't want to answer your questions, I won't."

"Why are you here?" She asked him quickly.

"You already know the answer to that." The boy said calmly, before shaking his head. "I thought you were wise enough to know that it's not polite to ask people questions you already know the answers to."

"True," She told him, "But it's rude to not ask something, than to suddenly say something that the other person might not know, thus spoiling something by saying what they wanted to know."

The boy raised his cup, in mock salute, "If you think they know, and they don't know, then they will know." He said, before sipping his tea, as another thump sounded above them.

It took her a moment to figure out his words, before she smiled. "I'm Haku."

Parting the cup from his lips, he responded, "Naruto." Before putting it back, and sipping it.

"You're not really a Genin, are you?" She questioned when he had finished his tea. She had been observing him from the beginning, every since he had stepped foot onto the ship. It seemed he was always alert, even when he was throwing up over the side of the boat. That level of alertness usually came from fighting for most of one's life, always knowing their surroundings and thinking. It wouldn't seem natural if this boy was a mere Genin. The alertness he had shown was far above a Chunin's, let alone a green Genin.

"I am a Genin." He confirmed, pouring himself another cup.

She pondered even more, wondering the kind of life this boy must have led.

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Kakashi watched as one of his clones was slammed into the water, a victim of Zabuza's zabanto.

He sighed, as he felt the information from his Kage Bushin flood into his mind.

This had been going on for the good part of an hour, and he had chased Zabuza into the water, which was where they were currently fighting atop of.

They were standing atop it, while Sakura and Sasuke were protecting Tazuna. Chances were, Zabuza wasn't alone.

'I hope Naruto is fine on that boat,' He thought, feeling more memories from one of his clones go to his mind. It seemed more and more of Zabuza's clones were popping up. 'He looked really…'

He never got to finish his thought, as a blade came crashing down where he had once been. To avoid it, he had let his chakra control slip, and had dove into the freezing polluted water.

"KAMI!" He tried to scream out, the water stopping his voice, and filling inside his mouth. He couldn't feel his fingers anymore, and he had been in the water for less than a second. He used the control over his chakra that he had gained from being an ANBU for many years, and rose to the surface quickly, jumping into the air, and getting colder from the contact. He landed on the water, shivering cold. 'Seems like Kenrai was right. I'm a Jonin, and I doubt I would have been able to last a minute there.'

Another of Zabuza's clones came to him, but his fingers were too cold to move.

"Oi!" He shouted to one of his clones, who left the clone it had been battling, to jump in front of clone charging him. It disappeared into a puff of smoke, and Kakashi suddenly knew how many more of Zabuza's clones were left.

"There's five more of you guys," Hw whispered under his breath, jumping and kicking out in front of him, taking out the Mizu Bushin as it ran through the smoke of his clone. He moved his hands as much as he could, trying to get as much warmth in them as possible, as he swung his arm like a hammer, hitting a Mizu Bushin in the back, who had been facing off against one of his clones.

His clone suddenly puffed into smoke in front of him, as he received a kick to the stomach. He flew back a couple feet, sliding across the waters.

'Maybe I should've done more training, when I learned I would actually be training a Genin team and taking them on missions.'

Two Zabuza clones came running at him, swing their blades from side to side, using them as a sort of buffer, to get them moving faster. He was starting to feel some movement in his fingers, and that might have been all he needed.

He moved his hands intricately, starting his fingers out in a long and complicated pattern. The clones stopped, and another Zabuza came from the fog, this one Kakashi guessed being the real one.

They stood there on the water, watching and waiting as Kakashi was doing his seals. Instinct told them to move, while curiosity made them stay. It seemed the man was running through every seal known, at an extremely fast pace.

Kakashi's fingers were starting to tire, after making another seal for the twelfth time. The key to this jutsu was to make your opponent think it was really long, when in actuality, it wasn't. It was just random seals, with no chakra connecting them in between. For high level jutsu, not many people checked to see if their owner was even adding chakra to it. They just assumed they were, or else they wouldn't be making that many seals.

For the last part, he added chakra to it, making his jutsu complete. "Katon: Nenshou Hanabi! (Fire Release: Burning Firework)," He cried out, putting his fingers to his mouth and blowing.

The Zabuza clones and Zabuza heard the name of the jutsu, and quickly jumped out of the way, expecting to see some extravagant fire jutsu come from the man's mouth.

Instead, they were treated to a small flame, coming from the man's mouth and going onto palms.

Kakashi sighed, as his hands were warmed. It was going to be over soon.

While the Zabuza clones were still in shock, he threw two kunai at them, each of them hitting one in the chest, and causing them to disappear into the water.

He smirked underneath his mask, now knowing this last one was Zabuza.

"It seems like I've finally got you, Zabuza." He said to him, holding his hands apart and balled into fists, in a fighting stance. "I've just got one question before I kill you."

Zabuza held out his blade, swinging it around before bringing it over his shoulder, laying it at rest there, as he held his hand out to Kakashi. "What is it?"

"Are you really Zabuza?" He asked him.

Zabuza laughed, before sinking into the water, an obvious sign that he was a clone.

"Chikashou!" He cried out, running back to the ship as fast as his legs could take him.

A hand slipped out of the water in front of him, trying to trip him. He suspected this to be another Zabuza clone, and just leapt over it, hoping he would make it in time.

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"…so, he turned to the dark side, by choosing the lesser of two evils, to protect all those people, even when some of them hated him?" Haku asked him, as he nodded his head while drinking his tea.

They had been having a friendly conversation, while sipping tea and ignoring the soft thumps above their heads. Somehow, it had gotten to a story Naruto had once heard, about a man who was once pure, only to turn corrupt to protect his land.

"He chose to kill them, so he could protect them."

"Do you have a precious person you want to protect, Naruto-kun?" Haku asked him quietly, not knowing if this was a sensitive subject or not.

"Do you?" He questioned back to her, putting his cup down and standing up, walking over to the sink. He placed the cup there and returned, sitting down to look at her again.

"Hai." She told him quietly, also getting up, taking the kettle along with her. "Do you need anymore tea?"

"Want, yes. Need, no." He answered her, getting up to walk beside her, and help clean the cups and kettle. "Why do you want to protect your precious person?"

They stayed quiet for a moment, as Haku pondered. Why did she want to protect Zabuza-sama? Yes, he had saved her life, by taking her in and training her. Then again, he was only using her as his personal tool. That brought her back to why.

"There was once a little girl," She began. She hoped Naruto would be able to help her figure it out, since he seemed intelligent enough to know. "She had a happy life, living all alone with her parents, secluded from the rest of the world."

She walked back to her seat, and let Naruto finish up. She knew he was listening, because he always was.

A soft thud came above their heads, but she ignored it, continuing on with her story. "Her parents loved each other, and they loved her. She loved them back, willing to do anything for them. It seemed the happy life she had would never end. One day, she was playing down by the river. She watched the fishes, as they swam by. She had always watched the fishes, wanting badly to catch one, and show them to her parents. She knew that would make them proud, as her father was a fisherman, and he normally went to a nearby town, to sell the fish he had caught to give them their happy lifestyle."

Naruto finished washing the dishes, sitting down across from her, and putting his hands underneath the table, to hide what he was doing.

She didn't pay attention, as she was now caught up in her memories, "That day, I went watched those small fishes as they swam, carefree in their own little worlds. I watched them for a whole day, just wanting to get one, so I could bring it back to my family and show them. Sometimes, I even reached inside the river to try and catch them, even though it was freezing." She laughed, a sob going through her despite herself. "When I pulled my hand back out, a fish was frozen to it. I cried then, because my hand was so cold, and so numb. The fish was probably dead by that time, or dead even sooner. I ran home, and found only my mom inside my house, sitting by her special window. She was always at that window, either knitting some clothes, or reading a book."

She hastily wiped a tear from her eye, before Naruto nodded to her in sympathy. "The second I ran into the house crying, she was there. I showed her my hand, and she nearly screamed. She took me to her room, lighting the fire and telling me to put my hands in there, to warm them up and melt the ice. After a while, I could feel my fingers again, and my mom made me promise to not show my daddy about it. I agreed with her, and when my dad got home, I told him I had caught a fish."

She laughed for a second, remembering his exact words, "He told me, 'Look at what a big fish my pretty little daughter caught. Going to grow up and be just like her father one day, that she is.' Hearing him say that made me so proud. The next day, I went back to the river, hoping to catch another fish and hear my daddy say those things again. I tried sticking my hand in the river immediately, but when I pulled it out, my hand wasn't frozen, and a fish wasn't there. I stayed there the entire day, slowly getting frustrated by the number of times I stuck my hand in the water, only to bring it out with nothing there. Until night, I tried. Then, I became so frustrated, I started hitting the water with my fists, trying to get the fish to come out."

She shook her head, trying to stop the unhappy memory rising in her mind.

"Don't fight it," Naruto said, as he watched her trying to shake the memory from her mind. "Remember it, so you can see it."

She stopped trying to shake her head, and started on again. "I didn't notice the water going into the air was staying there. I was just so mad at the fishes. In the end, I got tired, and had to go back and rest. I remembered seeing globs of water in the air, floating around me. I tried to touch one, and I found I could. I soon started playing with it, for a whole day. I was just so mesmerized by it that I forgot that my mom and dad would be worried. When my dad found me, he just stood there, watching as the water moved in my hands. I showed him it, but he just ran away. I was confused, and I ran after him. He was so much bigger than me, and so much faster. He got to my house before me, and started screaming at my mother. Then…"

She couldn't wipe the cascade of tears now running down her eyes, as she saw images of her dad, stabbing his mom over and over with a knife. Sobs racked her body horribly, as she couldn't control her shaking.

Being the ever observant one, Naruto finished for her, taking note of the number of thumps above their heads, both hard and soft. "He killed her, right before you got inside." She nodded slightly, to let him know he was right. "You were angry, and he explained what I assume to be your bloodline to you. The most logical thing that might have happened next was he tried to kill you." He looked at her sobbing form, as she shook violently. He sighed in his mind. She was acting just like them when remembering something bad, before he taught them control and how to let go. "It must have failed, since you're here now."

"H-Hai," She stuttered, bringing a shaking hand to her eyes and wiping at her face. She was embarrassed now. She had lost control in front of a person. "H-He told me about my bloodline, and how m-my mom was the why I had it. H-He said if he had known, he w-would have k-killed her, instead of f-fathering a d-demon like me. He tried coming to me, and he got me, r-right into my s-stomach." She lifted her shirt slightly, to show Naruto the scar on her stomach, which was fairly old. "I-I k-killed him on accident, my bloodline f-freezing him."

Naruto nodded in understanding. That was natural, killing someone because they were trying to kill you. After all, it had happened to him multiple times. "Then you stumbled outside, in the cold weather. Eventually you were found by your precious person, and they helped you heal, and rescued you."

Haku nodded, as Naruto handed her a cup of tea, which he had apparently brewed when he had been standing. "Is that your precious person?"

"Hai." She nodded, and sipped her tea, feeling better as the warm feeling slipped down her throat.

"Don't lie." He said to her bluntly, more thumps from upstairs.

She spat out the tea she had in her mouth in shock. "Excuse me?"

"Don't lie." He repeated, facing her and lowering his sunglasses. She gasped, looking into his cold reversed eyes. The eyes of someone knowing, and powerful. "That person is not someone you call precious." He told her, taking the glasses completely off, and stowing them in his overcoat. "The person that saved you, what did he want to do afterwards?"

Haku answered him immediately. "He told me to become his tool."

"You do not really consider that man a precious person. He is just someone who saved your life, in return for it. A precious person is someone you are willing to die to protect. This person who saved your life, are you willing to die for him?"

"Hai."

"On your own free will?" He questioned her, his eyes boring down on her.

She thought for a moment, before answering truthfully. "No."

"For a person to be truly precious to you, you must be willing to sacrifice your life for them, on your own free will. You are bound to a debt, made by a man who is using you. That is not a precious person." He paused, considering his next words. "You are just like me."

Haku's head shot to him in shock. The way he had talked, she would have been sure of it. "You have no precious person you want to protect, Naruto-kun?"

He smiled at her, a small and little smile. It was a teasing smile. "No, Haku-chan. I have precious _people_, I want to protect. One day though, I hope I can stop protecting them, and start going on for my dream."

Haku could not help but smile. This boy was truly observant. She had answered her question truthfully, and had caught her mistake by correcting her.

They sat in silence, smiling at each other.

"Do you have friends back home?" Haku asked him suddenly, breaking the silence.

The smile on Naruto's face was quickly replaced by his normal apathetic looking expression. Haku mentally groaned. It seemed her question had treaded on dangerous ground. "Once." He whispered, going off into a faraway place. He placed his sunglasses back on the bridge of his nose, covering his eyes. "Now all I have are rivals and acquaintances."

Haku was just about to ask another question, before a loud thud came from upstairs. She looked worriedly at Naruto. That one would be impossible to ignore.

Naruto walked over to one of the corners of the kitchen, appearing like a random spot. Haku followed him, curious as to what he was going to do.

"Did you know, Haku-chan," He started. "That every person's footstep is different, based on what they do?"

"Narut-" Haku began, before Naruto cut her off. The thumps upstairs were now getting closer, starting from the opposite end of the room, coming nearer to where they were.

"For example, people like Kakashi-sensei have heavy footsteps. Even though he is a ninja, he does not specialize in assassination. His forte is combat, and as such, he does not need to worry about being quiet with his steps, as all he was trained to do was fight. When he does go on assassination missions, he has to consciously lessen the impact of his steps, so as to not make noise." He looked up, staring at the top of the ceiling, as more footsteps sounded above. Haku also listened closely, hearing what the boy was talking about. Those heavy steps had stopped above them.

"People like Momochi-san have light steps, because his specialty is assassination." More steps sounded above them, rapidly moving. Haku got over her shock of hearing her say her sensei's name, before she listened. The steps moving above them were heavy, made by the person Naruto had called Kakashi. Underneath them however, she heard softer and light steps, made by her master, Zabuza.

They suddenly disappeared, and Naruto spoke.

"Risk your life, Haku-chan, and see if you can truly count him among your precious people."

He raised his arms above his head, pointing straight up. He seemed like he was hunched over a little, his back bending because of something. He brought his arms straight down, a giant zanbanto impaling itself right in front of him, as a black body broke through the roof of the kitchen, before continuing down and crashing through the hole of the ship, causing a flood of cold water to come rising in slowly.

Haku's eyes widened in horror, as she took one last look at Naruto's face, and jumped down into the hole Zabuza's body had made.

Naruto thought for a moment, as the pressure lessened off him, going back to normal. Deciding it would be something "nice" to do, he picked up the zanbanto like it was nothing, and flung it down into the abyss of cold.

It sunk, as he watched it go.

"I see Haku-chan." He whispered quietly, so the ones above could not hear his words, as they peered down the hole Zabuza had made to stare at Naruto. "You really do care." He flexed his fingers, moving them as the world became dizzy. "Strange though. You didn't poison the tea."

"I've got it!" Sasuke's voice rang out, echoing down into the kitchen where Naruto was at. Kakashi, Sakura, and Tazuna moved their heads to look at Sasuke, as he spoke from the control room. "It should start moving now!"

They all nodded their heads, before turning to Naruto.

"Hey, Naru-" Sakura began, before looking at her blonde haired teammate.

Kakashi only sighed, jumping down into the ship's kitchen, picking up Naruto's prone body off the wet floor.

"Oops," Sakura whispered, looking at the bags of tea.

Sasuke came over, staring down at the body of Naruto being carried over the shoulder of Kakashi.

"What happened to him?" Sasuke asked, wondering.

"I think I accidentally told Naruto-kun to take some sleeping drugs…" Sakura blushed, as Tazuna slapped his forehead, while Sasuke muttered a "Baka…" under his breath and left.

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"My family's nice and welcoming." Tazuna boasted to them, as they walked along the path. "They know I'm supposed to be coming, and they're probably waiting outside. My daughter might have already cooked dinner, and we might have already cooked dinner, and she's a great cook!"

Naruto had woken only a few minutes after having been knocked unconscious. Sakura had apologized profusely to him, to which he only told her to pay more attention next time, with a barely noticeable hint of anger. After having said this, he had run straight to the side of the ship, lurching over it once more. It kind of ruined the moment.

"What about your wife, and kids?" asked Sakura, walking alongside him. Night had fallen, and they were now walking closer together, for protection and warmth, though Naruto stayed off to the side a little.

Tazuna snorted. "My wife?" He laughed, "Never had one!"

He kept walking, along with Naruto, as the rest of Team 7 stared at him. "You never had a wife?"

"Of course not! What gave you that idea?"

"You said you had a family, waiting at home and everything." Sakura mumbled, trying to figure it out. "You even said you have a daughter. Doesn't it take two to…" She trailed off, blushing a Hinata-worthy blush.

Tazuna only laughed once more. "Tsunami? No, she's adopted."

They could see a light near the house, and two shadowy figures standing in front of it, waving.

Tazuna ran up to them, hugging the taller one, as the shorter one watched. Tazuna let go of the woman, and Team 7 could now see her.

Her clothing looked simple and plain, but that only added to her beauty. She looked to be around twenty-seven, near Kakashi's age. She bowed deeply to them, and said, "Arigatogozaimasu, for protecting Otousama. I'm Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter" She bowed deeply once more, as Tazuna scratched the back of his head.

Kakashi whistled, which caused Tsunami to blush, as he gave her the once over. The boy beside her just stood there, mouth agape as he stared at the openly lecherous man. Kakashi turned his head to Tazuna, asking. "Where did you find her, and where can I get one?"

Tazuna just laughed, "There's a little orphanage, down by the-" He was cut off, as Tsunami pulled her fist back and slammed it into the back of Tazuna's skull.

Kakashi's eye widened, as Tazuna came back up, holding a bump on his head. He bowed to Tsunami, saying, "Sumimasen," in fear of her strength. He had avoided getting hit by women for many years, but he didn't think he would be able to stop this.

"It's ok." She winked at him, "It's not everyday a handsome man says that to someone like me."

They both laughed, a little joke between them.

Sakura looked at them both in embarrassment, not knowing how to react. Both Sasuke and Naruto were looking at the scene with apathy, though Sasuke had a small twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

The boy beside Tsunami seethed, as Tazuna recovered.

"Tsunami, Inari, this is Team 7." He gestured at them, pointing them one at a time as he introduced them. "That is their Jonin sensei, Hatake Kakashi. The blonde haired boy over there is Uzumaki Naruto. The kid with the duck's ass on his hair is Uchiha Sasuke, and the girl beside them with the unusual hair color is Haruno Sakura."

They each bowed in turn, as they were introduced. "Why don't we get out of this cold and-"

"You don't know anything about what it's like here." Inari said to them, his voice filled with rage. "You don't know what it's like being like this."

"Inari," Tazuna warned him, looking over the doorway to where he had gone. Tsunami had already gone inside, to probably get dinner.

"IT'S NOTHING LIKE IT IS HERE THAN IT IS IN YOUR STUPID NINJA VILLAGE!" He yelled at them, picking up a rock from the ground, and throwing it. By chance, it hit Naruto in the head, thumping against his skull, as it fell to the ground, cracked.

Naruto only stood there, with his arms folded and looking directly at Inari.

"Inari!" Tazuna screamed at him, attracting the attention of Tsunami, who poked her head out of the window to see what was happening. Sakura looked a little awkward, standing here as the boy yelled at them. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto had kept up their cool, and calm shinobi demeanor. "Apologize right now!"

"YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ON GATO! HE'LL KILL YOU ALL, SO WHY DO YOU EVEN BOTHER!" He let out a sob, as if remembering something. In Naruto's head, he mentally groaned. It would be wise to get out of this situation, before the boy cried. It was awkward around crying men, or most crying people in general. Good thing he had taught them to control that emotion. "YOU CAN'T JUST KILL HIM! HE'S GOT GUARDS, AND EVERYTHING AROUND HIM, SO WHY DO YOU EVEN BOTHER! YOU CAN'T KILL HIM!"

"Inari-san." Naruto said, his voice freezing Inari's words, "Our mission here is not to kill Gato. It is to protect your grandfather, to ensure Gato does not kill him."

"URUSAI!" He shouted to him. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! EVEN IF YOUR 'MISSION ISN'T TO KILL GATO, HE'LL STILL KILL YOU!"

"INARI!" Tazuna screamed at him, slamming his fist into the doorway. "That's enough." His voice was low and dangerous. It seemed like telling off the blond haired boy struck a nerve in Tazuna, who was still remembering the first time he had seen him.

"No." Inari said, the voice the same as his grandfather's. He turned to Naruto pointing a finger at him. "You don't what it's like to be poor, having to work for everything you've got. You have no idea the difficulties of having to live like this, having a wave of oppression always hanging over you, keeping you down." Inari looked over his clothes, noting them. "Heh. You probably just dress like that to gain sympathy from your ninja village. You're probably really rich, and live a nice, happy life, with no one to care for in this world, and never having to worry about your problems. People like you make me sick." He gathered spit in his mouth, and launched it at Naruto, landing right by his feet.

Tazuna was about to scream more at Inari, but Naruto cut him off, holding one of his hands out in a choking position. With his other hand, he reached towards his face, pulling off his sunglasses for the second time that day.

Inari froze, staring deep into his face. His entire face was narrowed in anger, the muscles on his face becoming more defined. Inari started shivering, not because of the cold, but because of the man, looking at him the eyes and body of a real killer.

Kakashi ran forward, knowing the extent of the damage Naruto's Kekkei Genkai could cause. Sasuke and Sakura also ran forward, knowing what Naruto could do. Tazuna and Tsunami were looking confused, but instinctively knew that Inari was in danger.

As Kakshi was running to Naruto, The blonde haired boy raised the hand that held his glasses, a gust of wind sweeping past him. Only by using his chakra to stick to the ground was he able to not move. Sasuke and Sakura were not that lucky, as they were soon blown back, slamming into the ground. Kakashi gasped for breath for a second, the wind not allowing him to breathe correctly.

Naruto's hand slowly clenched together, as he felt the pressure. Inari struggled to breathe, as he felt something wrapping around his throat, like a collar being tightened. He felt himself rising in the air, as he gasped for breath.

"You should learn, gaki." Naruto's voice was mercilessly cold, biting into Inari's mind, his words sinking themselves into his thoughts, and echoing around in his head. They seemed terrible, for every syllable that Naruto spoke was like facing death. This man… he was a man who had been with death all his life, and knew how to introduce people to it. "To choose what you say, before you say it."

The pressure around Inari's neck lessened, as he fell to the ground. The gale pushing Kakashi back went down, and he could move now.

Tsunami and Tazuna had run out of the house, each of them scolding Inari, who was still on the ground gasping for breath. Sakura and Sasuke had gotten up, to see Naruto walking away, pulling his glasses back on.

"Wait, Naruto-kun!" cried Sakura, running after the blond. He just raised his hand, not doing anything with it. He just left it there, raising it. It was enough of a sign for Sakura however, to know that she shouldn't bother him.

"I'll be back tomorrow." He said coldly, vanishing into the darkness of the forest, leaving a group of onlookers, and one curious boy.

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**There's chapter 5, for those of you who wanted to read it. **

**If anyone noticed, I've placed a couple of "Easter Eggs" inside the chapter. If you can spot them, good for you! If can't, then I'm sorry. **

**Just so no one says something later on, I know Tsunami is supposed to be a few years older than Kakashi, but it's kind of hard for me to think of a woman as being older than a man, and flirting with them. Call me whatever you want, but it was something so small, it couldn't be ignored, for me anyways. I'm also sorry for the caps on Inari's talking. It just seemed right to put them there. Another thing I may be sorry for is the fact I repeat things many times, namely the words to describe when someone is talking, like my overuse of the word "said" which I happen to use many times. I'm trying to change this. **

**If any of you are interested, I'm happy to let you all know that I have the next few chapters for most of my stories planned, or written on paper. That may mean I'll be writing them soon, but I also might not be. It all depends on whether or not my character on 2Moons is getting better and I go on a mad rampage of death to waste my time while gaining exp or I get bored with the game and uninstall it. **

**If you see any inconsistencies, problems with the chapter, have any suggestions, or just want to ask me something, please feel free to do so. **

**Dokugin**

**Word Count: 8,262**

**Page Count: 17**

**Time: Roughly 7 hours, with breaks in between **


	6. Training, For Lack of A Better Title

**Chapter 6 everyone. I hope you don't get mad at it…**

**As a side note, there is a high possibility that I'll rewrite this chapter, or there is an equally high one that I won't. It all depends. After all, I just wrote this in a hurry. **

**I'm also sorry for the suckage… or unrealism of the characters… **

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Chapter 6: Training, for Lack of a Better Title

Dinner was eaten in silence, as they sat around the table, quiet as the night.

Inari sat closest to the door, still recovering from the berating that Tazuna and Tsunami had given him. They had screamed at him for minutes, sometimes hitting him over the head, to show their point.

The remainder of Team7 had watched this, all standing there awkwardly, as they watched the two older people yelling at the young boy, who was on the ground, clawing at his throat, trying to get breath down his windpipe.

Soon after they had stopped screaming at Inari, they had awkwardly apologized, before going back inside to eat dinner.

Which was why they were quiet now.

"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura asked, from her seat at the table. Kakashi was seated right next to Tsunami, with Inari right beside her. Tazuna was on the other side of Inari, with an empty chair reserved for Naruto by him. Sasuke was in the next chair over, eating his food in small mouthfuls. "What about Naruto?"

He sighed, dropping his spoon and looking at her. "Go find him and tell him its time to eat." He told her. She nodded, made to stand.

Inari's voice stopped her. "Wait." He said quietly, putting his spoon fork down and standing. "You can stay here and eat. I'll find Uzumaki-san." He started moving to the door.

Tsunami shot him a warning look, as he opened the door. "Don't do anything you'll regret, Inari-kun. I won't feel sorry for you if you say something and Uzumaki-san hurts you."

Inari nodded, saying, "Hai, okaasama. I just want to apologize." He said, before stepping outside to find Naruto.

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Inari hid in the bushes, watching Naruto.

He was neck deep in a pond, his head laying on the bank and watching the sky. His clothes lay on a branch beside him, on a tree. They seemed a little wet, like they had recently been washed.

The boy heard Naruto sigh, before he dunked his head into the water. Inari waited for him to come back up, but he did not. After a while, the young boy began to get worried.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap…." He muttered under his breath, his words getting louder every time. "I can't apologize to a dead man!" He screamed, nearly jumping out of the bushes to go to Naruto.

Fortunately for him, Naruto had just popped up, and he didn't expose himself then.

He was waist deep in water, but Naruto could clearly see the boy's back. It was practically made of muscles atop muscles, which would surely make any girl, and some guys, blush. That was not what Inari had staring at so intently though. His back was covered with scars, some looking to be around 5 years old and older. The longest and biggest one started on his right shoulder, going all the way down to his left hip.

Naruto turned, facing Inari. There were not as many scars in the front, but the muscles were still there. He walked up, showing off the boy's strong physique.

**(Just a quick A.N. That part was awkward for me to write, seeing as I'm a guy… ok, it was hella awkward…) **

He went straight for his clothes, pulling on his pants first, followed by the white shirt. He left his sandals and coat off, opting to use the coat as a sort of blanket to sit on.

He looked up towards the sky, letting a despairing sigh escape his lips.

"Inari-san. We may talk now." Naruto said, facing forward and not even bothering to turn his head to face Inari.

Inari was startled by the suddenness of the boy's voice, even more so by the fact he seemed to know where he was. He stayed inside the bushes, hoping against hope the boy was just guessing.

Naruto sighed once more, shaking his head and letting the water drip off. "I know you're there, there is no use in hiding."

"Fine," Inari mumbled, defeated. He stepped out of the bushes, walking over to Naruto and planting himself beside him.

They stayed silent for what seemed like hours, just watching the night, until Inari spoke. "Why do you have so many scars?" He asked cautiously, not knowing if the question would be too personal for the young man.

"I have fought many battles." Was all he answered.

While Naruto watched the sky, Inari pondered his answer.

"You're at least only twelve. How can you have that many?" Once again, his question was asked with caution.

Naruto said nothing, only watching the sky, shaking his head to clear out water from time to time. Inari sighed. If the boy didn't want to answer the question, he wouldn't.

Silence reigned this time, even longer than the last.

"Say what you wish to say, or do not say it all and leave." Naruto told him suddenly.

Inari looked at Naruto, wondering if he should just apologize now, or if he should leave and apologize later. Making up his mind, he said, "Gomennesai, Uzumaki-san." He gave Naruto a bow of his head, to indicate his shame. "I didn't mean to insult you."

Naruto only nodded to show he had gotten the apology, and Inari stood to leave.

"It was not me you insulted, Inari." Naruto told him, causing Inari to stop where he had been. "It was everyone else in the world. They work hard for their things, just as I do. I do not care what you say about me, nor do I care what you say about my life. What you said last night, however," Naruto turned to face him, his cold hard gaze meeting Inari's eyes, "Was simply unforgivable."

Inari bowed his head in shame, taking the berating.

"You must think before you act, but before you may think, you must learn. All my life, I have fought. All my life, I have worked. That goes for many in this world. They work to death, just so they may live. By saying what you did last night, you tarnish their efforts. They are the ones who provide everything, and they are the ones who bring hope to the hopeless. Do you understand?"

Inari shook his head, not comprehending the boy's meaning.

"Then you will learn. Sit back down." Naruto commanded. Inari nodded fearfully, hoping that Naruto would not hurt him. His mother's words came to him then.

'_Do not do anything you will regret, Inari-kun. I won't feel sorry for you if you say something and Uzumaki-san hurts you.' _

Inari started shaking visibly, only to be calmed by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"I will teach you, not hurt you." Naruto told him, still looking at him with his eyes. At times like these, Inari wondered where Naruto's sunglasses were.

Naruto took his hand off Inari's shoulder, laying it at rest on his lap.

"There are many kinds of people in this world, Inari." Naruto began. "There are those who seek power, and there are those who seek peace. People who seek knowledge come from everywhere, and those that seek destruction are anywhere. There are many who look for love, and others who act on hate. Some in this world always get what they want, yet there are others who must work for what they receive. The special people in this world who bring hope, and the ordinary people who will bring despair. Within these different types of people, there lie more types of people."

Inari held a hand up to Naruto, making the universal sign for him to stop. "What kind of people, and why are you telling me this?"

The tips of Naruto's eyebrows quivered for a moment in annoyance, as he brought an open palm up. Inari cringed at the movement, thinking Naruto was about to kill him. After all, his palm had nearly killed him last time.

Instead, he was met with relief, and a sharp sting on his head, as Naruto brought the palm down and slapped Inari in the back of the head.

Inari rubbed his head, trying to make the pain disappear.

"Baka." Naruto told him, in a teacher-like voice, "Don't interrupt me. I'm not telling you this just to tell you. There's a reason behind it, like there is a reason behind everything."

Inari nodded, still rubbing the back of his head.

Naruto continued. "There are the kinds of people who are a combination of many things. There are those who seek love, while acting on hate. Some who seek destruction, in the pursuit of knowledge. People in this world may seek power, in order to bring peace. Yet, others still are different. Each living thing on this planet is different, yet it is our differences that keep us the same."

Naruto turned his head towards Inari, raising his eyebrow to see if Inari was still listening. Catching the gesture, Inari just as he had before, under Naruto's watchful eye.

"Do you know of someone, who gave their life to save another's?"

Inari's eyes widened, remembering his adopted father, Kaiza, who had died a hero.

"Hai." He answered quietly, trying to hold back the tears and memories that were bound to appear.

"Then that person was a fool." Naruto told him harshly, causing Inari's head to whip around, tears of rage burning in his eyes as he charged at Naruto with his fist raised.

"YOU SON OF A BI-," Inari's words were cut off, staring into Naruto's face. It was absolutely merciless, and he felt something pressing down on him, enclosing him in pressure.

"Make no mistake." Naruto said, his voice soft and deadly, "Whoever dies for another, does not die for another."

Inari's eyes only watered more, as he struggled to force his way out of the pressure around him. It tightened, and his breathing was getting harder. If one looked closely at Naruto, it seemed as if his entire body was tensing.

"LET-ME-GO!" Inari yelled at him, struggling even more against his invisible bonds.

"Then listen and learn, gaki." He told him, as Inari dropped to the ground. Upon landing, he composed himself and charged once more at Naruto, rage still in his mind.

He pulled the fist back, before bringing it forward. Though Inari was only a small boy, he still considered his punches to hurt, as he had been able to fight off a few bullies when he was younger, with the training of Kaiza.

It flew towards Naruto, but his hand shot straight up, unwavering and straight. He caught Inari's wrist with his palm, and gripped it. Tears of pain sprang into Inari's eyes, as he felt a vice like grip around his wrist, nearly cutting off his circulation.

"Why do you stay, when you refuse to listen and you refuse to learn?" growled Naruto. The grip on Inari's wrist loosened, and he fell to the ground, whimpering in pain.

"Leave and come to me when you seek to learn the secrets of this world." Naruto told the weeping Inari. "Come to me before that," Inari could practically feel the pressure on his body, as he crumpled to the ground, something forcing him down. "And you will die."

Inari could only yelp out a small , "Hai," before the pressure was lifted off him, and he ran away, forgetting to even tell Naruto that dinner was waiting at home.

Naruto sighed as he watched Inari run away.

'Perhaps it was better if I didn't treat him so harshly.' He thought in his mind.

'**I would have just killed the damn brat. I would have ripped him to shreds, and then fed him to his own…' **The voice inside his mind growled.

'No.' Naruto said firmly, 'He will not die yet, at least not until I see.'

The voice inside his mind growled once more, a small bark of annoyance escaping his jaws. **'Damn you and your observing nature. You're the worst host I could have possibly been put in.' **

'Yes, I would consider it so.' Naruto replied dryly in his mind, 'It goes well with the fact you're the worst possible demon that could have been contained within me.'

'**I hate you.' **

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When Inari had returned home, Tsunami had only asked him why he was crying.

Inari had only run up to his room, clutching his wrist. Tsunami and Tazuna had only scoffed, before returning to their jobs of duty, though each looked a little worried.

"Tsunami-san," Began Kakashi, but Tsunami stopped him.

"Please, Kakashi-san. I'm not that old." She laughed, Kakashi also let out a small chuckle, but he was a little concerned for Inari.

"Don't you think that Inari might be," He made small gestures, trying to get his message across, without the rest of his team hearing. They had their backs turned to the door, and they probably didn't hear the sobs Inari had been letting out. Seeing Tsunami's puzzled expression, he continued, "You know. A little," He glanced quickly over to his student's, who were still busy helping Tazuna. He leaned in close to Tsunami, causing her to blush slightly at the proximity. "Hurt." He whispered into her ear.

Tsunami only shook her head. "It was probably his fault. He's always acting like that, ever since…" She trailed off, remembering Kaiza.

Kakashi nodded in understanding. He was a trained ninja, and was good at telling people's emotions. It was natural for a person to change, especially after someone important to them died. That still didn't keep him from worrying. "But shouldn't you check on him, just in case?"

Tsunami shook her head, almost causing her head to collide with Kakashi's. She nearly yelped, but managed to keep a reign on her voice. Kakashi had only looked puzzled by her actions, raising an eyebrow at her antics.

"No. He has to learn from this, and I think Uzumaki-san would be a great teacher."

"If the boy doesn't kill him first." Responded Kakashi, turning his head to face the stairway. looking up the stairs to where Inari had gone.

He shook his head silently, turning back to face the two remaining members of his team.

"Wake up early tomorrow, and meet me by the forest outside Tazuna-san's house. We're going to be doing some training."

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Surprisingly enough, they found Naruto sleeping in front of the forest.

None of them even tried to keep their laughter back, at seeing Naruto's position.

Even Sasuke couldn't, as he burst out laughing louder than the rest of them.

'Looks like the dobe isn't as mighty as I thought.' He told himself in his mind, gaining confidence from this.

'Naru-kun looks even smaller when he's sleeping' Sakura thought in her mind, her inner self sniggering lightly. 'I bet Sasuke-kun doesn't sleep like this.'

Kakashi was clutching his stomach, laughter escaping his lips from behind his mask. 'I guess I overestimated him. Then again, we all have weird habits. Whoever thought his would be this.'

Naruto was sitting on the ground, his knees brought up so his chin was resting on them. His eyes were closed, and his sunglasses were inside his coat pocket on his overcoat. Both of his arms were held around his legs, keeping them there. A small trail of drool was slipping down his chin, and he was snoring lightly. He was also rocking back and forth, to some unknown melody. His sandals were on, only adding more to the hilarity of it all.

"I-I think we should wake N-Naru-kun, K-Kakashi-sensei!" Burst out Sakura, still laughing.

"H-Hai!" Answered the white haired Jonin.

"I'll wake the dobe up," volunteered Sasuke uncharacteristically, walking up to the boy, still laughing, and calling out, "Hey, dobe. It's time for training, now-,"

Sasuke didn't even have time to scream or register it, as he crashed into the ground, forming a small crater in his form. He had only gotten within a five-foot radius of Naruto, but he had crashed so fast into the ground he doubted even his brother could have gotten past it. As soon as he had entered his range, the black haired Uchiha had lost consciousness.

Both Sakura and Kakashi were stunned, looking at Sasuke, then at the now awakened Naruto.

His eyes were open wide and wild, still the same eyes of a killer, though this time with a hint of insanity. Both arms were outstretched, aimed at Sasuke, who was still slowly being pressed into the ground.

Naruto heard a groan, and immediately lessened his field, bring it back to him.

'What the hell was that?' Thought both Sakura and Kakashi, looking at the boy with something like fear. Naruto's eyes slowly lost their insane gleam to them, reverting back to their original state. His hands lowered to his sides, as he struggled a little to do so.

Finally getting himself under control, he stood up. Bowing in apology to Sakura and Kakashi, he walked over to Sasuke, whispering an apology to the unconscious boy and lifting him with one arm. He carried him inside, Kakashi and Sakura following at a weary distance.

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"He should be fine by lunch." Naruto told his team, kneeling beside Sasuke, who was lying on the couch. He stood, turning to face Sakura and Kakashi, who were waiting for an explanation. "Gomennesai.." He said, bowing just as he had done outside. "I don't normally sleep so late."

Kakashi and Sakura just stared at him pointedly, as he gave a defeated sigh.

"I suppose it is best if I tell you, so this may never happen again." He sighed once more, slipping on his sunglasses. "It is a defense mechanism I designed, back in my younger days." His normally impassive face took on a grim look for a mere second, before returning to normal. "It requires the use of my Kekkei Genkai, which you and Sasuke already know," He faced at Sakura, who blushed at having been found out, "As I sleep, I activate my Kekkei Genkai. If you go within five-feet of me, then it is possible you may die." He looked at Sasuke. "Baka over here was lucky. He didn't enter headfirst, like the others. If he had, his head would have been ripped off."

He said this bluntly, tsking as he did so. Sakura looked at him amazed at the fact Naruto could talk about something like this so easily.

Kakashi, on the other hand, had the gears in his mind turning. "The others?" He asked curiously, awakening Sakura to his intention. She turned wide eyed to the blonde haired boy.

He merely nodded, before turning to Kakashi and Sakura, the latter looking amazed, the former looking pensive.

"I'm going into town." He told them, "I'll be back at lunch."

He then exited the building, closing the door behind him.

"Sakura," Kakashi said, sitting on the couch in front of Sasuke's feet. He put his hand to his chin, and rubbed thoughtfully, "Go follow Naruto. Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

Sakura nodded, though a little hesitantly. If what Kakashi-sensei had inferred was true, and Naruto wasn't lying, then he really had…

She shook her head, getting her thoughts off her teammate. It would be useless to dwell on that now. She ran outside, catching up to Naruto and leaving Kakashi to think and Sasuke to recover.

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"You don't need any more workers?" Asked Naruto. The old man in front of him shook his head, as Naruto nodded in understanding and left.

"Naru-kun, wait up!" Sakura shouted, running to catch up to her fellow Genin. She had been following him for the good part of the morning, trying to catch up to him. Every time she was close however, Naruto always seemed to reappear someplace else.

To her relief, Naruto stopped this time, standing outside a shop.

"We have to stick together," She panted, her hands on her knees. "Kakashi-sensei told us to."

Naruto ignored her, staring at the shop's window intently. Beneath his shades, his eyes were zipping to and fro, reading the information listed on the bulletin posted on the window outside.

Sakura panted for a little while more, trying to catch her breath. She felt someone tug at her pants, and she twirled around quickly, her pervert-punching fist held high.

Naruto moved quickly, catching her fist right before she flung it.

The pink haired girl turned to look at Naruto in puzzlement, the grip he had on her wrist tightening. She could see Naruto's eyes beneath his glasses narrow, as he shook his head. Sakura slowly turned her head, facing the person who had just touched her.

A little boy was standing in front of her, smiling with a toothy grin. He was dressed rather poorly, and distantly reminded her of Naruto. His hands were held up to Sakura, the universal sign of someone in need of money. The grip Naruto had on her wrist loosened, and he let go to return his hands to his side.

Sakura looked down at the boy piteously, reaching down into her pockets, trying to get to her wallet.

She felt a light palm on her wrist, and she turned again to face Naruto. He looked at her, shaking his head once more. He looked to the small boy, and shook his head at him also. The boy's eyes took on a depressed and desperate look, before leaving the two and going to others.

"Naru-kun, what the-," She was cut off, as Naruto's palm tightened into a fist, and she cried out a little in pain. Then Naruto spun, walking into the shop, dragging a hurt and confused Sakura behind him.

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"What was that for?" She whispered to Naruto.

They had quickly walked into the store, much to the pleasure of the owner, who immediately ran up to them to ask if they need help with anything.

Naruto just shook his head, dragging Sakura around with him, as they walked around the store.

Sakura couldn't even tell if Naruto was truly looking at the products on the shelves, or if he was just doing it to do it.

He didn't respond for a moment, opting to continue browsing through the shelves and aisles of the shop. He picked up a banana from the shelves. It was nasty and rotten looking, but Naruto took it into his hand anyways.

Sakura turned her head away in disgust, the smell of it overpowering her nostrils.

"There was a reason to it." Naruto told her suddenly, flipping the banana around to inspect it more. "If you had given him some money, the others would have noticed."

He placed the banana back on the shelf, walking around the store more.

"The others?"

Naruto nodded, picking up a milk carton from the shelves. He shook it once, and heard some solids hitting around inside it. Sakura looked at the expiration date on the carton, and had to hold back a gasp. The milk was probably a couple of months past its expiration date, but the owner still had it on the shelves. "There were more people on that street, looking for money. If you had given that one boy money, more would have come, asking for more. If you gave them money, you would soon run out, and leave the rest of them with nothing, while leaving others with some."

Sakura waited for the boy to explain more, as he placed the milk where he had found it and continued walking.

"If you leave some with something and others with nothing, the others would become spiteful and jealous of those people. They would hunt them down, and beat them for their money. It would be the same with you giving that one boy the money, except with more severe consequences. He would probably die, as the others took away the small amount of whatever you gave him."

"But, isn't it a ninja's job to always help those in need?" asked Sakura, "Aren't we breaking our own rules then?"

Naruto chuckled a bit, stopping at a shelf lined with apples. Each of them was rotten, and flies swarmed around them. He picked one up, juices running down his fingers.

Sakura shivered at his chuckle. It wasn't meant to convey amusement, or to show that he found it funny. It was more like a knowing laugh, like he knew that Sakura would have said that.

"We are not samurai, Haruno-san. We did not go by rules, and we do not play fairly." He threw the apple into the air, and watched its slow descent. It fell down, and Naruto's hand shot out quickly. It slammed into the apple, causing pieces of it to go flying all around the area. The owner of the store, who had been watching them intently, now looked at them in dismay. Naruto only gave a small thoughtful sound, as he walked onwards, towards the storeowner.

"Besides, you cannot help one without scorning another. If you cannot help everyone, then you shouldn't help anyone. Go outside and wait for me, Haruno-san." He ordered her, his hand slipping down past her. She felt his hand brush against her in an awkward place, and blushed heavily. Naruto then pushed her towards the door, as she followed his order.

Naruto watched her go, and waited until he was out of the door. Then he took off his sunglasses and stared directly at the owner, as he walked forward.

The shopkeeper's eyes widened, as he back as far as he could away from Naruto. The boy's eyes were just so cold, and looked like he was about to kill the man. He didn't even notice the fact his eyes were reversed or anything.

"Get away from me!" He shouted fearfully, his back hitting the wall. He picked up a broom, holding it at Naruto over the counter, "Stay away!"

Naruto only sighed, placing something square and pink on the counter. He then leaned in close to the man, over the counter.

"Use that, and get some help." He whispered, causing the man to shift his eyesight down to the counter to look at the object he had placed on the table. His eyes slowly fell out of their fearful state, now only showing shock and glee. "Go to the last house on the left on Elm Street, and walk a thousand miles south till you see it. You will know what it is when you see it. From there, walk to the west until you get there. Take what you need, and be sure to tell others about it."

"A thousand miles?" He asked slowly, shock seeping into his voice, "I don't think Wave goes south for a thousand miles. And what are you talking about?"

Naruto looked confused for a moment, not understanding. Suddenly, his eyes went wide as he realized his mistake. "Sumimasen." He bowed sheepishly, uncharacteristic of his cold, hard eyes. "I meant ten miles. The place will be able to help you, and any others."

The man sighed in relief as he heard his words and Naruto walked away.

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Naruto and Sakura walked on in silence beside each other, down the dusty path that led to Tazuna's house. They could smell the sea beside them, and a nice breeze blew past.

Soon after Naruto had exited the store, they had started out on the path, estimating they would arrive at Tazuna's house exactly at lunch.

"Hey, Naru-kun." Sakura said, remembering what had happened inside the store. Soon after she had left, she decided to ignore the contact from Naruto. After all, she was pretty attractive. "How do you know all that stuff? Do you study or something?"

Naruto did not respond for a while, continuing down the path in silence.

"I observe, and I learn. That is how one experiences life." He told her quietly, his hands shifting into his pockets and his head tilted down as he walked.

"You experience life by watching it?" Sakura asked him confused. When he nodded his head, it only served to confuse her more.

"Time is a bitch." He told her bluntly, "It is unrelenting, unstoppable in its force. It is always present, and nothing human kind can do will stop it. Our lives on this planet are a testament to that. A person cannot experience everything, so they watch. By watching, you also experience, and you learn."

"Wow," Sakura muttered dumbly. It seemed like Naruto was speaking more and more these days, though almost every time he spoke, he was somehow able to make it seem longer and even more confusing.

They did not speak until reaching Tazuna's house. Waiting outside was an eye smiling Kakashi, and a scowling Sasuke. The dark haired boy's scowl only deepened as he saw Naruto approaching. They stopped before the two.

"Sasuke-kun!" Yelled Sakura, running over to Sasuke and smiling right in his face. "You're okay!"

Her arms spread, and she wrapped them around Sasuke.

"Dobe," growled Sasuke over Sakura's shoulders, completely ignoring the pink haired girl. At hearing the growl from Sasuke, Sakura slowly detached her arms from around her neck and slowly backed away.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked him, eying him strangely. His voice was full of malice, sounding dangerous to her young mind.

"Do not attempt it, Uchiha-san." Warned Naruto. "You will only fail."

"Urusai." He growled, his voice containing the exact same malice from before. "Don't tell me what I can't do."

Naruto said nothing for a moment, letting the tension between the two build. Sakura looked confused between the two, while Kakashi was watching them both, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

'Let's see what you can do, Naruto. Let's see if you can turn a tide that will surely sweep many along with its force.'

"I am not your brother, Uchiha-san." Naruto spoke, causing Sasuke's head to whip up sharply. Unknowingly to Sakura and Sasuke, he began to leak killing intent, adding more to the tension straining the air.

"I know that, dobe." sneered Sasuke.

"Then know that you should not direct anger at those who do not deserve it."

"Deserve it?" Sasuke scoffed, something odd to his mannerisms. His black eyes glinted dangerously. "You knocked me out for six hours. Six hours I was unconscious."

Naruto nodded, finally bringing his head up to face Sasuke. "Then take it as a lesson."

"A lesson?" He barked. He started laughing then, more killing intent coming from him. Sakura was now shivering, not knowing why. "You're not a damn teacher. Don't act like it."

"You are correct, Uchiha-san. I am not. However, pain will be your teacher, and past experiences have told me that pain is the hardest teacher of them all."

"Don't lecture me." The last loyal Uchiha snapped. "I refuse to take that from a dirty looking dobe, especially if it's you."

"Those were not my words, Uchiha-san." He gave Sasuke a moment to think of his words, and how to say what he would say next. He began, although a little apprehensively. It was always best to take a cautious approach. "They have never been my words."

"Stop talking so damn cryptically!" Sasuke yelled, the volume of his voice combined with his killing intent causing some dust to be blown away with his words.

'Interesting,' thought Kakashi. 'He can do something like that already. If we can get him under control, then he would probably make a great and loyal shinobi.'

Naruto looked up, as if remembering something. He spoke, while still keeping his head pointed towards the sky. "A long time ago, I met a man. He was much like you. He had dark hair, and your exact same eyes." His words made Sasuke stop his rage, a slow sense of realization dawning upon him. "He was like me though. We were much alike, in the small time we knew each other. He too, had the eyes of a killer. He did not, however, have the same intensity as mine. Before he left, he told me those exact same words." Then he turned to look at Sasuke, one of his hands reaching towards his face and pulling off his sunglasses. "You are not the only one Itachi-sama has effected. You are not the only one who seeks answers."

"Answers?" He snorted, "I look for revenge."

"Do not attempt to deceive me, Uchiha-san. You do not seek revenge. You seek to know why your brother betrayed you, just as he did to me." Naruto told him, his cold, hard gaze piercing Sasuke's. The rage Sasuke was feeling left him suddenly, staring into Naruto's eyes. The blonde haired boy, with the reversed eyes walked forward. Much to the surprise of all present, he extended his hand towards the boy.

Sasuke flinched backwards, remembering what Naruto could do.

"When the time comes, Uchiha-san, I will stand beside you. We will both kill Itachi, and take our answers from him. Until then, I hope that we may be able to help each other." Naruto emphasized the hand outstretched towards Sasuke.

"Good boy," muttered Kakashi, as he watched Sasuke grudgingly take Naruto's hand in his own.

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"Today, we'll be learning how to climb trees." Kakashi announced to his team happily.

Soon after Naruto and Sasuke's conversation, they had entered the sea of trees, where Kakashi had delivered his announcement.

"Ano, Kakashi-sensei," Put out Sakura. She didn't understand exactly what had just happened between Naruto and Sasuke, but she knew it must be private. "Why do we need to learn how to climb trees?"

"Ah, my dear Sakura-chan." chuckled Kakashi merrily, "I think you'll find you don't know how to."

"But, Kakashi-sense-," Her words were stopped, as Kakashi took out his small, orange perverted book and began reading. He walked forward, going right in front of the tree. The three students had expected him to stop, but they didn't actually think he would keep going, straight up the tree. He stopped right above them, hanging vertically from a branch like a bat.

"So, you still think you can climb trees?" Kakashi asked her mockingly. He let himself fall, flipping once so he landed on his feet. "This is a chakra control and chakra building exercise. Just concentrate chakra to your feet, and walk up the tree. Make sure you put enough just to stick to the tree. Too little, and you'll fall. Too much, and you'll be blown off it, or just blow through the tree." He pulled three kunai from his pouch, throwing them at the feet of his students, who picked them up. "Use those to mark your progress."

He waited for one of his student's to try, but none of them did. He made a wild gesture to the trees, motioning them to go forward. "Go on. I'll be staying here to watch, and to correct you if you do something wrong."

The three Genin nodded. Each walked to a tree, looking at the others.

Naruto gave the motion for to go first, which Sasuke seconded. Wanting to impress her Sasuke-kun, she ran back a little. Aiming for the tree, she pumped as much energy into her legs and ran full sprint at the tree. She lifted her leg, and nearly yelled in success when she felt herself stick. Making sure not to break her concentration, she ran up the tree, nearly making it to the top. She made a nice cut near the top, the kunai easily slicing through the wood. Sakura fell back down, landing gracefully on the floor.

"That was easier than I thought." She told the others honestly.

Sasuke nodded. If she could do it, why couldn't he?

He followed the exact same steps as Sakura, and made it almost halfway before losing concentration and falling back down.

The remaining members of Team 7 looked to Naruto, who had yet to try.

He took a deep breath, walking back a little way from the tree. He examined the tree in front of him. He ran forward, as fast as he could.

The rest of the team watched in baited breath, as Naruto ran at the tree, prepared to climb it. They expected many things from the boy.

They just never expected him to fail.

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**Sorry that the chapter kinda sucks, and is a little awkward in some places. I just rewrote all of this today, starting at around 6 and ending right around now, at 11. That's around five hours, I guess. I'll edit this tomorrow, to correct any mistakes I made. **

**Look for the new story, and know that I'll try to make it better. Just know that it will be subject to change, as will this chapter be. **

**Tell me if you see anything wrong, or have any questions. **

**As a side note, again, there are some things you might notice from other things in this chapter. It's kind of fun to do that kind of stuff….**

**Dokugin **

**Small Preview of Next Chapter...**

**Naruto's Secret? Zero Pressure and his Bloodline Details, in full. Battle on the Bridge against people...**

**Word Count: 6,216**

**Page Count: 14**

**Time: 5 Hours**


	7. Battle At The Bridge Part 1

**I don't know how this chapter will go… This is the first time since writing Imaginary Assassin the original that I'm writing something off the top of my head without some sort of plan. Most times I write off the top of my head with **_**some **_**semblance of a plan. **

**Oh well… the standard disclaimer applies. **

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Chapter 7: Battle at the Bridge Part 1

"_Hurry up, Naruto-teme!" Shouted the green haired boy in front of him. Naruto's face remained passive, though his killing eyes were still set. _

"_I don't think we should." The two boy's companion said. Her eyes were downcast, yet still held the distinctive coldness and death that was present in their eyes. "We might get in trouble." _

_Naruto turned to face her, his four year old eyes analyzing her behind black tinted glasses. She was small and petite, a kimono adorned on her body. Her grey eyes stared at him under a coolie hat, with small tuffs of white hair coming out from underneath. _

"_Come on, Mihiru-hime." His green haired companion said. "Who cares if we get in trouble? They know they can't do anything to hurt us." _

_Naruto nodded in agreement. He was the quiet one of the three, almost never speaking out. He was also the smallest. _

"_But Naruto-kun, Kyushi-kun," protested Mihiru. "They'll be angry with us." _

"_Then let them be angry at us!" shouted Kyushi boldly. Naruto placed a small hand on his friend's shoulder, shaking his head. He then held one finger up, and then pointed it over to the rocky outcrop. _

"_One at a time?" Kyushi asked him, years of friendship enabling him to know what he meant by one finger up. Naruto nodded, then held two up and pointed to his eyes. "Two at watch?"_

_Naruto nodded, and pointed to Kyushi, then Mihiru, and lastly, at himself. His two friends nodded, though Mihiru did so reluctantly. The sounds of brawling started, and Kyushi ran over eagerly, leaving Mihiru and Naruto to stand watched. _

"_Why do you always go along with Kyushi-kun's schemes, Naruto-kun?" Mihiru asked him. _

_Naruto looked to the sky, as if daydreaming and said, "You two are the only friends I'll have. I'd rather have two friends in this lifetime, then none at all." _

"_But there's still the chance you could lose me." Mihiru said almost shyly. _

_Naruto shrugged, something uncharacteristic of him. "At least I'd still have one." _

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He dodged another explosion, his eyes darting back and forth in a calm manner. His sunglasses were nowhere to be found, and his coat was laying somewhere else, discarded in the battle.

The haze around them was cold, a product of Zabuza's jutsu, which the eyebrow-less man had not dispelled yet. Behind him stood Kakashi, who was panting and sweating, and Tazuna, who was looking around worriedly. Kakashi had far less wounds than Naruto, but he was still bleeding heavily, due to the fact he didn't have a demonic fox in him constantly using its chakra to speed up your healing and he was the one protecting Tazuna.

"Naruto," Kakashi panted. "Do you know this guy?"

"Hai," Naruto responded, his voice quiet, soft, and deadly. It was his true voice, the voice he used so long ago, in the sands of the Arena.

Kakashi gave a grunt of pain, as another of the ice javelins made their way through his leg, impaling themselves on him.

"Damn that Haku!" He shouted out, reaching down and yanking the javelin out before it would explode. He threw it to the side, as it soared through the air and exploded in a green flame. "Damn that Zabuza and damn that kid!" He yelled frustrated.

"Don't lose your focus," Naruto reminded his sensei, as his hand shot up and caught an incoming ice javelin. He tossed it back to its source, and was rewarded with the sound of ice piercing flesh.

"My, my, Naruto-teme." The familiar voice in the fog said, chuckling merrily. "Your aim seems to have gotten worse these years."

From the mist, Sasuke's body dropped, the javelin impaled through his shoulder. Naruto's eyes hardened even more, as he felt the pressure in the air around him change.

He ran to Sasuke, pulling him over his back. He turned back to Kakashi, who had done the same to Tazuna. "I'll go first." He told him, "Follow and listen."

Kakashi nodded, as Naruto set off at his fastest pace. Though Sasuke didn't seem heavy to him, the pressure weighing down on him was enough to slow his pace considerably.

'I can't let it up, or else Sakura might be in trouble.' He grit his teeth, as he felt more pressure added on to him. 'If I put more on Sasuke, he might be in trouble too. I can tell his lungs are collapsed from his fight with Haku, and more pressure on him would kill him.'

He let a sigh escape his lips, as he turned to Kakashi.

"We won't get out of here like this." He told him. "Take Sasuke, and head to land. I'll take care of them."

"But," protested Kakashi, but Naruto cut him off.

"I know his skills better than you do, so it makes me more suited to stay here and fight." He handed Sasuke to the reluctant Kakashi, and then turned to talk with Tazuna. "This bridge will probably not survive what I'm about to do." Kakashi's eyes widened miraculously, and even the unconscious Sasuke had a slight reaction to his words.

"It's fine." Tazuna said tiredly. "This bridge is replaceable, and after this, we can rebuild it."

Naruto nodded, and turned around, heading back to the center of the bridge.

"Be careful though." Tazuna called to him. He was unsure of what he was about to do, but the way he had said it made his plan seem somewhat suicidal. "We can't rebuild you!"

Then Kakashi sped away, carrying Tazuna and Sasuke on his back,

"No guarantees." Naruto said simply, before walking off into the midst of the mist.

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**Right as Naruto is climbing the trees from last chapter… had no way else to put it. **

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T USE CHAKRA!" All three simultaneously yelled at the blonde haired teen.

"I can't." Naruto said blankly.

"WE WANT TO KNOW WHY!" They screamed at him.

"Calm down, and I will tell you." He told them.

The other three fuming members of Team 7 sat down, looking at Naruto for his response.

They had seen Naruto run as fast as he could towards the tree, though he was a little slow. He was still faster than the average ninja, but being on the same team with an Uchiha and a Sharingan user, he was very slow indeed.

Naturally, they expected him to succeed, to pass their expectations as he had done before. That's why it came as a surprise when he took one step on the tree before falling. His only excuse as he was brushing dirt off his clothes was, "I can't use chakra."

"You all know of my bloodline," He started out bluntly. Sakura and Sasuke exchanged glances, wondering how he knew that. One hand went to his sunglasses, pulling them off swiftly. The two, less experienced shinobi couldn't help but shudder at Naruto's forbidding, death filled eyes. Kakashi, on the other hand, knew that people could develop these kinds of eyes when they had seen death time and again. The only thing he was wondering was why they were on Naruto.

"The Oshigan is my Kekkei Genkai. It is the pressing eye, the bloodline limit of my clan. I don't know where the rest of my clan is, and I know nothing about them. All I have ever known is that they passed this to me, and that I possess it now."

"Wait," interrupted Sasuke. "Does that mean you don't know what clan you came from?"

"Don't interrupt him, Sasuke." chastised Kakashi.

Naruto, however, was already nodding his head. "That is true, I know nothing of my clan."

"You don't know who your mother or your father was, or if you have any relatives?" Sakura asked him.

"Not you too, Sakura." Kakashi said despairingly. He just wanted Naruto to explain the rest of his story already. He too, was already asking questions. Unlike his pupils, however, he was not voicing them just yet.

"No, I have grown up never knowing who my father, or my mother was." Naruto said.

"That's so sad." She said, a small tear going down her check.

"Please, continue Naruto." Kakashi asked impatiently.

"As I was saying, the Oshigan is the Kekkei Genkai of my clan. Though I have been vague on what it does, I will give you the basics of its power." He stared at each of them, as if wondering if they could keep this knowledge with them. "It always enables me to control the pressure exerted on all objects, no matter the size, weight, mass, or volume. I can increase it," He leaned over on the ground, picking up a rock the size of a walnut. He laid it flat on his palm, bringing the other one to bear on the rock. Slowly, he closed the fist without the rock, and watched as it crumbled into dust. "Or I can decrease it." The closed fist was slowly opened, and they saw small dust particles get swept away by the small breeze.

He put both his hands down, pulling the sunglasses out of nowhere back onto his face.

"I mastered my bloodline at the age of 5, and found the way to prefect it the next second." He informed them. "As I've said before, my bloodline is a metaphorical blade. Just as a drawn sword cannot be sheathed without spilling blood, my bloodline cannot be used without sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" blurted out Kakashi in spite of himself.

Naruto nodded. "Yes, a sacrifice. It is much like the law, 'Something cannot be created from nothing.'"

"What do you mean, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked him.

"Do you ever wonder where all that pressure goes?" asked Naruto. They were silent for a moment, as their thinking skills went to work.

Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who spoke up first. "You mean… it all goes to you?"

Naruto just nodded his head. "That is why I cannot use chakra."

The members of Team7, except for Naruto, shared quizzical looks. Naruto sighed.

"Chakra counts as something. My bloodline is always active. That means there's always a constant pressure on me as, far more pressure than any living being. Added to the pressure I can on when actively using my bloodline, the chakra will not follow my commands and go towards me instead." explained the yellow haired boy.

Small oh's and ah's escaped the lips of Team 7, as realization struck them. Then silence, as each struggled to think of a way to fill it.

At last, Sakura spoke. "So, it's impossible for you to use chakra?" She asked him.

"No," he answered. "There is a state where all my chakra is available to me." He paused, as if wondering if he should continue. "It is… very dangerous for me to go to that level, just to use chakra."

"Does the state have a name?" put in Kakashi.

"I call it, Zero Pressure." And Naruto lapsed into quiet, no more questions being directed towards him.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were processing this new information, trying to piece together all of what Naruto explained about his bloodline.

"You said you could lessen the pressure on something, right?" Sasuke asked him slowly, a plan of sorts forming in his mind.

"You would need practice if you wish me to do that, Uchiha-san." Naruto replied, "Your body is used to performing under normal conditions. If I just lessen the pressure on you, you must learn perfect control."

"And that means chakra control too!" Kakashi said suddenly, looking at the other two. "Go back to your tree climbing exercises." He looked specifically at Sasuke. "We can discuss strategy with Naruto later."

Sasuke grudgingly went back to the trees, but Sakura stayed a little longer.

"What happens when you enter Zero Pressure, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked him worriedly.

Naruto stared at her from behind his sunglasses, his emotions as unreadable as ever. He said, however, as serious as ever, "Mass destruction follows, and I pay my dues."

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He lay outside, staring at the moon. It reminded him so much of his younger days, the days when his simple life was actually simple. He started to wonder where it all went complicated.

Perhaps it was when he had mastered his blood line. Some days he thought it was because of the fight between the three of them. Maybe it was when he became philosophical and started becoming more and more like _him_.

He smiled despite himself, remembering the words of his old teacher.

'_The more and more you start talking, the less and less you start listening. Say what you will, when you will need to say it. If your mouth opens, make sure it's to say something useful, or for food.' _

He sighed despite himself, and continued staring at the sky.

Since when had the world become a mystery to him, when had it lost its simplicity?

Then he realized the exact same answer he had figured out every time he had asked himself it.

It was the day he was born.

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It was nearly four weeks since the Naruto had told them of his blood line, and he was feeling increasingly agitated, though he never showed it. He just hoped the Hokage was taking care of them well.

Today, he was on guard duty with Kakashi. They both stood on the bridge, following Tazuna around as he issued orders to his workers. Both were on edge, though neither showed it.

All morning, there had been an eerie fog hanging around the bridge. It was a thick, heavy fog and drifted around them, chilling their bones and sucking from them their warmth. The mood on the bridge was heavily depressing, and Tazuna's cheerful attitude did nothing to help them.

"Come, you can do it!" The old man shouted to a group of workers who were pulling up a steel railing with some rope. "Put some back into it!"

"Urusai!" They all grunted in unison, as the rail slid into place.

"Cheeky bastards." Tazuna muttered under his breath, walking away.

Kakashi and Naruto trailed after him, watching out for any signs of danger. They tensed, when they heard loud, rushing footsteps behind them. Quick as a flash, they turned. Kakashi ran forward, a kunai held in his hand. He got behind the would be attacker, and held the kunai to his throat.

Naruto had one of his hands held up, and looked to be ready to close it when he realized who it was.

"Someone's attacking our house!" Inari shouted, tears streaming down his face. "They're trying to burn it down!"

Tazuna, Kakashi, and Naruto shared glances, before Kakashi let Inari go.

"Sakura's still there, right Innari?" Naruto asked him calmly.

Inari nodded quickly, tears still running down his face. "She was training when they attacked."

Naruto nodded, and held his hands out, as if he was about to fly, obviously concentrating. Kakashi felt something ripple out from Naruto, and crawl over his skin.

"She's holding them off, though only barely." He concluded after a few seconds. He turned to Inari. "Tell her I've given her some help." Inari nodded, and ran back, going back home.

Naruto faced Kakashi, and nodded. "What about Sasuke?"

"He's fighting off that Hunter-nin from before. With the he's been doing to handle the less pressure, I think he could beat her if he needed to." Kakashi nodded, and Naruto did his concentration again. "There's…. one, two, three… five shinobi hidden in this mist. Sasuke is near the middle of the bridge, where their battle has brought them. Zabuza and the Hunter-nin, Haku. The two Demon Brothers," Kakashi cursed under his breath. He knew he shouldn't have let them on the side of the road, where someone could easily untie them. "And…" Naruto paused, and behind his sunglasses, his eyes narrowed. "Another enemy." He said simply.

Kakashi nodded, and turned to Tazuna. "We'll guard you, but we need to get everyone off this bridge. It's not going to be safe here any longer."

"You're right, Hatake-san." A voice crackled from the mist. "You're never safe."

Kakashi brought Tazuna's head down and ducked, as a large, flying blade sailed past their heads. The other men on the bridge screamed, as the blade passed over them and cleaved them in two.

Kakashi grit his teeth loudly, standing and pulling a kunai out of his pouch. He felt something release off his body, as if a burden had been taken, and looked at Naruto.

The boy nodded, as he also stood. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes were darting everywhere, searching for any hint of the enemy.

He felt something headed towards him and his hand shot upwards. He caught the kunai by its handle, by something seemed off with it. It was glowing green…

His eyes widened in realization, and the kunai exploded in a green burst of destructive energy.

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Sasuke panted, feeling the effects of the senbon currently impaled throughout his body. He knew he had Naruto's help, because his body seemed freer, and his movements seemed enhanced. Despite Naruto's help, he was still losing.

"Please, give up." The feminine voice said again. "You cannot win."

Sasuke 'hn'ed, and brought his kunai even closer to his body. He hunched over, and made another run at the ice mirrors.

He had been standing in the forest, practicing his chakra exercise, when the Hunter-nin had shown up. Out of nowhere, she had attacked. Soon, their battle had ended up on the bridge, where she had trapped him in an ice jutsu.

'Figures,' He thought in his mind, running up to the ice mirrors, 'That I'd have to fight the Hunter-nin.'

He only made it ten feet to the ice mirror, when he felt some senbon break through his flesh. His teeth grinded, the only thing he could do to stop from crying out. He dodged the rest of them, however, with his enhanced speed.

Though he didn't want to admit it, without Naruto's help, he would have already lost. The attacks came fast, and though his body was able to dodge them, he couldn't dodge them in this tired state. At the beginning, he had been able to evade them all, but as time wore on, he grew tired.

'I'll try it again,' He said in his head. His hands ran through some seals, and he finished off with a loud, "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu**."

He brought his hands to his mouth, and a great ball of fire spit forth, headed straight for the ice mirror.

It impacted against it, steam coming from the mixture of the two elements. He stood there panting, waiting to see the results and to catch his breath.

The steam cleared, and he let out a low growl of disappointment. It didn't work… again.

"I have said it before, you cannot-,"

"Urusai," The Uchiha said quietly, silencing the voice. "I don't want to hear it."

He stiffened, as several more senbon punctured his flesh. This wasn't good. There were too many wounds on his body, and he could feel his vision getting blurry.

'If I can't even beat this one Hunter-nin, how can I beat Itachi?' He asked himself, as he shuffled along, trying to keep himself upright.

"Kuso." He cursed aloud, falling to one knee as another senbon cut into his skin. He reached behind his back, pulling the senbon out one by one. They dropped on the floor of the bridge, a metallic clatter sounding their fall.

He stopped, and sat on the ground. It wasn't very safe, sitting on the ground to rest in the middle of battle, but he was sure his opponent wouldn't attack to kill him now. After all, the hunter-nin hadn't fired anything to kill him yet.

His eyes widened however, when he heard the faint whistling of senbon headed straight for him.

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"Naruto!" Shouted Kakashi.

The green haze still hung around him, small pieces of shrapnel imbedded into his body. His torn coat lay a little ways away, and his sunglasses hung crookedly off his face. Kakashi couldn't help but shiver, as he saw Naruto's eyes.

They were still the eyes of a killer, but now, they held a determination, a purpose. Combined with the grim and forbidding look on Naruto's face, it made Kakashi wonder what had caused Naruto to be like this.

Naruto brushed his broken sunglasses off his face, his eyes looking everywhere.

"Kakashi-sensei, be on your guard." He said, as he brought his back lower, and hunched himself towards the ground. He walked slowly towards his torn coat, weary eyes glancing everywhere. Kakashi looked at their client, who was staring at his dead workers in shock.

"Tazuna-san." Kakashi said, trying to help him realize his dire situation. "Tazuna-san." He nudged the man in his side, and he slowly shook his head, quietly crying.

Naruto, on the other hand, had ripped apart the remains of his coat, making strips of clothing on the ground. He picked a long one up, wrapping it around his hand. He repeated it with the other hand, tying it off at the wrist.

He turned around, his fingers curling in and out. He walked over cautiously. Though no one had attacked them during this time, it was safe to be careful. Kakashi lifted up Tazuna, who was slowly shaking from his sobs, and they moved onward.

"We need to find Sakura, then Sakura." Kakashi said to his student. "They might be in trouble."

Naruto nodded in response, fingers still curling in and out. His body was tense, and his eyes shone with coldness. He couldn't be here, could he?

They heard the faint cutting sounds in the air, and Kakashi reacted first. He kicked Naruto away from him, before jumping off to the side. A huge blade came crashing down where they had stood before, and through the mist Naruto could make out a black outlined figure.

"As expected from the great Copycat ninja." The man chuckled, before disappearing back into the mist.

"Zabuza." Kakashi said under his breath. He turned to Naruto. "Can you tell me where he is?"

Naruto nodded, and concentrated, his arms outstretched. He felt for it, the small difference in the pressure around him and…

He broke his concentration, jumping to the side as a kunai hit the spot where he had been standing a second before, a green burst of explosion a second afterwards.

He made his teeth grind against each other, as his hands balled into fists.

"Dammit," He cursed quietly, eyes searching for any movement.

"Naruto!" His teacher cried out, concerned about the green explosions. He came rushing over, carrying the still out of it Tazuna on his back. "Are you alright?"

Naruto ignored him for the moment, his eyes still scanning the mist. 'He's in there.' If possible, his eyes narrowed even further, making him look as if he was squinting.

"Naruto?" questioned Kakashi.

"Guard me for a moment. Catch all projectiles coming towards us, then immediately throw them away." He ordered his teacher.

"Naru-," His teacher began, but Naruto directed his fierce gaze towards him. Despite all his ANBU and Jonin training, those eyes Naruto possessed caused him to shudder, an unnatural sensation running along his spine. He nodded, and placed Naruto on the ground beside Naruto.

He held his kunai up, in a defensive position. He stood in front of Naruto, who had held his hands back up, and concentrated once more.

He heard something soaring towards them, and slashed at it with his kunai. It was a sharp twig, and his kunai sliced through it easily.

It fell apart, two split pieces and landed on the cement next to them, glowing green.

Naruto growled in frustration, jumping up from his stance and picking up Tazuna. He jumped away, and an explosion followed. Kakashi shouted in pain, as the two shockwaves hit him, pounding his body with concussive force.

The outsides of his clothes were singed and in some places ripped. Though his legs had received the majority of the blast, the rest of his body had gotten the rest. His arms were shaking, and his eardrums were popping. He felt as if he had been compressed between the two simultaneous blasts, and it was only his skills as a ninja that he was even able to hold himself upright.

"What was that?" He gasped to Naruto, who was looking in the direction the twig had come from.

The boy did not respond, leaving Kakashi to wait a few moments in the mist.

Finally, the boy turned to him, walking slowly towards him. "Don't just cut whatever comes towards us in half." He told him, still looking around them. "He can still use it even if the original object is split. You have to either redirect it or destroy it entirely."

He put Tazuna back down, and resumed his stance. Kakashi nodded, holding the kunai back up.

For the third time, Naruto tried to locate the position of Zabuza. He sent a ripple of pressure through the air, feeling the differences wherever they were. Something was moving towards their direction, holding something large…

"Behind us, towards Tazuna." Naruto said to Kakashi, putting his hands down and balling them into fists, while turning around at the same time. Kakashi nodded, and jumped in front of the still shocked man, and brought his kunai up in time to block a blade slash from Zabuza.

"Huh, you blocked it," The eyebrow-less shinobi said, "Damn brat." He seemed to direct the last comment to Naruto.

Naruto heard the sailing sound, and pivoted on the ground, bringing his right foot up and knocking the kunai that had been headed towards them. It glowed green for a moment, before exploding at a near safe distance away from them. He could still feel the heat that had erupted from the explosion however.

"Naruto-teme." A familiar voice called from the mist. "You're still no fun."

He froze, that voice sending flickers of faint remembrance through him.

_They had just been caught, and their handlers were gripping them each tightly by their collars. _

"_You damn brats!" One of the suited men screamed, "If you had gotten lost, who could've imagined what Sojiro-sama would've done to us!" _

"_Oi, you're too damn loud." Kyushi grinned at them, bringing his hand up to his nose and wiping. "Besides, we didn't do anything wrong, right buddies?" _

_Mihiru nodded fearfully, while Naruto remained silent. _

_Kyushi pouted. _

"_You're no fun, Naruto-teme." _

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**I'm kind of tired right now, but I decided to leave you all with this. I cut it short, and I'll probably combine this chapter and the next to make it one chapter. I decided right now though that it's been too long, and I really don't like to make people wait. I'd also like to see how you respond to this chapter, or if I made some huge ass mistake. **

**Just for something for all of you to try to think about, but I want you to try to guess Kyushi's ability. I've you some of the more necessary hints, but you'd have to be able to read between some lines. **

**I should update within the next week, so it won't be another month without an update. I'm getting Halo 3 sometime after Tuesday though, so no guarantees. **

**Sorry if I disappointed some of you, **

**Dokugin**

**Word Count: 4,595 **

**Page Count: 11**

**Time: If you combine it, it would have probably been the last 1.5k words within the last hour, and then the rest of it over a two day period. **

**Next Chapter: Naruto against Kyushi, and the **_**exact **_**effects of Zero Pressure. **


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